Sonic Chaos 1: Painful Memories
by Deliverer
Summary: They were looking for him, he heard them calling, but he was too lost in his memories to pay any attention. She found him though, and for the first time he forced himself to tell her of them. Why he sat gazing up at the sky so seriously.
1. Sonic's Memories

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Since my mother has my computer with her for her job at the time, and since I can't do anything on my other stories without it, I thought I'd try something else. This idea came to me and I wrote it down. I don't know if it will be liked or not. Depends on who reads it. It brings closure to a series that I remembered from my childhood that I liked. If it is requested of me I may do more on it. Heck, I may do more on it anyway. I have enough ideas. Right now it's one ch. Enjoy. The music behind his attacks I based from Sonic X. Why will be explained in the note at the bottom.)_**  
**_

He lay on the roof looking up at the full moon, a ponderous frown on his face. His friends were looking for him. He could hear them calling his name. "Sonic!" Tails called.

"Sonic where are you!" Knuckles demanded in annoyance.

"Sonic, yoo-hoo!" Cream called.

"Yo, where are ya Sonic!" Jet called. Jet… that hawk was one friend who brought on a rare onslaught of emotions. Sonic swallowed over a lump he'd long thought he'd been rid of.

"Sonic?" a gentle voice said from near at hand.

Startled, Sonic sat up looking in the voices direction. Why did she have to show up now, when he was in this mood? He lay back down and closed his eyes impersonally, acknowledging, "Amy."

"What are you doing on the roof Sonic? Everyone's looking for you," she said as she reached him and looked down, hands on her hips and frowning.

"What I always do when I'm on a roof," he replied vaguely, hoping he could get this over with and she would just leave.

Instead, though, she asked a question he should have been more wary of. As it was, he didn't exactly think of that right away. "Okay, what are you thinking about?"

"My past," Sonic answered. He instantly bit his tongue realizing the slip.

She sat down and asked the question that he'd hoped wouldn't be asked. "What about the past?" His eyes opened unintentionally, revealing the very emotion he was trying to hide. Amy didn't miss it. Mourning? What did Sonic have to mourn? Who could he possibly be remembering? Suspicious and a little worried she asked in a firmer tone, the very questions he'd desperately hoped never to hear. "Sonic, what are you hiding? Who and what are you thinking about?" He looked up at her again as he sat up, misery in his eyes. She gasped at the expression. He summed her up.

Should he tell? He wanted so badly to finally talk to someone, but he kept burying the emotions, hoping they'd go away. The pain, the hurt, all of it… but there they were. They never left him alone. Memories haunted him so often recently that it was getting to be so, so, hard. The reason that whenever he attacked organ, guitar, and drum music sounded. He'd locked them up for so long, and now… they were finally bursting like soda from a shaken bottle. He heard Jet call again, looked into Amy's eyes, and in that moment two images appeared that he couldn't erase. In that moment he could visualize _them_. "Sonia…" he said, accidentally using one of the two forbidden names, and substituting it for the one whom she looked so much like.

"What?" Amy asked, confused.

All the memories crashed down on him like a building. He burst suddenly into tears. "Manic, Sonia, mom!" he mourned.

"Sonic!" Amy exclaimed, instantly wrapping her arms around him. As quickly as it began the weeping stopped. Sonic had forced the emotions down again and now stared helplessly at the moon. "Sonic, are you okay?" Amy asked again.

"Fine!" Sonic said a little too quickly.

"No, you're lying!" she insisted. "You randomly burst into tears and called the names Sonia and Manic! Who were they Sonic! Why are you acting like this! It isn't like you! Are they the ones you've always thought about whenever you lay on the roof looking at the sky!" she pressed. Who were these mysterious memories that could so easily pull her Sonic down from his usual carefree personality?

Sonic said nothing for a long while. Amy was about to press on when he suddenly began in a meek voice, "Amy…?" He trailed off.

"What? What is it Sonikku?" she asked.

He took a breath then sighed. "You look a lot like her you know. Jet… not only does he look like him he even sounds, acts, and hover boards like him. He does everything like he did," he said in a now normal voice.

"Who?" Amy probed.

Sonic looked solemnly at her then answered, "My sister and brother." Amy gasped in shock and covered her mouth. "That was their names, Sonia and Manic."

"You… you have siblings?" Amy asked in disbelief.

"Had…" he replied.

"Y-you mean…" she began. He shrugged helplessly, signalling he didn't know. "So they are the ones you've been thinking of this whole time," she said.

"We were triplets, born under three stars the same color as our quills; blue, pink, and green. Our mother… Her name was Aleena. Queen Aleena. We never knew our father. We didn't even know what happened to him. Actually, come to think of it we didn't technically know our mother either. See, when we were just babies a seer came to our mother and told her of a prophecy, a deadly fate that awaited us, her royal children, if she didn't give us up and separate us all. So, one night she put us into baskets then threw on a cloak so Eggman, or Robotnick's, henchmen wouldn't recognize her as she slipped through the city. She snuck from the castle and left me at a random door in the city. She knocked then ran away leaving me to be discovered by whoever. She left Sonia at the home of a wealthy noble lady and Manic at another middle class door; but before she could knock she heard someone coming and hid. It was a thief. He saw and thought the basket was full of things he could steal. He ran to it, and when he saw it was a baby he took him anyway. Mother followed, ready to step in, but the thief brought my brother to his boss, and to the surprise of mom, the man willingly took him in," Sonic narrated.

"Wow…" Amy said in awe. That was all she could say.

"Yeah, wow," Sonic said with a smile. "Years passed by and we grew up never knowing about our pasts until one day… Well, we found each other."

"How?" Amy asked.

Sonic did nothing for a time. She feared he was shutting down again, but suddenly he pulled out a small object. It looked like a chain. He opened his hand and showed it to her. She gasped. It was a expertly detailed guitar shaped medallion! Sonic went on, "The medallions… We each had one. Manic's was drums, Sonia's a piano. When we were near each other, or either sang or played a certain tune, the necklaces would glow showing that we were all close by one another. I learned about them first, when the seer came to my home one day and told me about them. He said it was time for me to fulfil my destiny then gave me a set of directions. I followed them to the letter after I got over the shock, and they came to me. We fought alongside each other against Eggman, all the while, though, we kept in mind the vow we'd made to each other the night that we finally accepted what we'd learned."

"What was it?" Amy asked.

"We vowed that our mother would be found if we had to search the entire universe to find her. Then we could have defeated Eggman, or as we not so affectionately referred to him back then, Robuttnick," Sonic said. He chuckled at the memory. Amy carefully giggled.

"So what happened?" Amy cautiously asked. Sonic said nothing. "Sonic, please," she said, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "Tell me. Talk to me. You've kept this all bottled up inside you for so long… Maybe too long."

Sonic sniffed causing Amy to cringe. Sonic then said in a voice that at first cracked, "I don't know. We were fighting Robotnick and his bounty hunter's at the time, Sleet and Dingo, then… I don't know. Something went wrong, and the next thing I knew I woke up in a forest all alone. No Sonia, no Manic, no anyone. I was terrified for them. I ran through the woods and even throughout all of Mobius and beyond looking for them, calling them. For weeks I hardly could stop staring at my medallion hoping it would glow. I even cried out for my mother to come to me if she was watching. I threatened her by even saying I'd go as far to go after Eggman alone. She never came, and I never felt so alone. I would've even been glad to see Sleet and Dingo. Finally I gave up. I just ran into the woods I'd awoken in that fateful day, and fell to my knees hitting the ground and sobbing. Finally I had no more tears left. I was playing with the medallion, then I just… I just tore it from my neck and hid it away vowing to forget it ever existed, along with them. I'd gotten along fine without them for long enough, I figured. I wandered the woods for a long time. That's when I met Tails, and then the rest of you, and I did what I had wanted to do. I forgot. Whenever I was with you all I forgot, or on an adventure. But still there were times… like, for instance, when I was alone to think, or when Eggman did something that reminded me of the past. He never mentioned my siblings out loud again, which makes me think that they just, just were gone, and no one knew where. And now, just recently, its all began to come back and haunt me. Talking about it now, to you, it feels like a weight has been lifted." He looked into her eyes, took her hand, then sincerely said, "Thank you…"

"You're welcome," she replied through tears. She could say nothing else. She just leaned into him. He didn't shove her away, and the two sat in silence under the moon as the others gave up on finding Sonic, Sonic once in a while telling her a story. No, a memory.

* * *

(A/N: In Sonic X I noticed some things that reminded me of Sonic Underground. The bird that Amy found, I think it was blue, who was looking for its siblings reminded me of it when the other two were found. One was pink and the other green, the colors of the triplets. The music that played whenever Sonic attacked with a power ring reminded me of Sonia's organ and Sonic's guitar. It never mentioned what he thought about on the roof whenever you saw him there. It just looked like he was serious about it so I provided my own answer to the mystery. I liked Sonic Underground. It was the first Sonic show I watched. The music wasn't the best idea, but the siblings looking for their mother I liked. I remembered, from the intro, their mother speaking about them while standing overlooking some land. I remembered a brother and sister. I was determined to find out what series that was one day and low and behold I found Sonic Underground. To confirm it I listened to the intro. At first I wasn't sure, then I saw Manic throwing utensils into the air as a baby. When I heard Aleena that just confirmed it. It never had closure and they've never been in a game. Technically it's not even cannon, but for fans of the group or those who remember the show I attempted to bring closure. I hope you enjoyed.


	2. Team Rose

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: I decided to go ahead and do more with this story. Ideas kept coming and I kept needing to write them down. I don't know much about certain things in Sonic games like what robots would work best where, so I could use help with that. Anything else that my readers can find that I don't know much about, please, tell me. I like to better my stories. This may be quite long depending on how I fare with it. There are many, many pairings, a lot of them very popular, and some that have never been done before that may seem odd. Some of them I just matched up once I had set out the cast of characters. I won't tell you what they are, I'll leave you to guess, but pairing that I don't plan on I will address just to keep fans of them happy, sort of like with the games and different hints at different couples. You've probably never seen some of the pairings though. If characters seem too out of character, since some of them I don't know much about passed what I've read on Wiki, then feel free to tell me and help me with them. Please enjoy this new brand of story. I may or may not defend my choices that I've taken with this story. Some parts may remind gamers of Sonic Heroes and some others as well as two of the cartoons.)

_**Team Rose (Read Author's note first)  
**_

The mismatched groups had come together at that house drawn by a common enemy, Eggman. It had been risky on the villain's part. It was a growing mistake. It certainly wouldn't go any better for him. He feared he was in over his head. He watched in secret from his eggmobile as Sonic and Amy spoke, as Sonic's friends searched for him. This would definitely be too much for him. He needed help, but whom? Who could he rely on not to betray him? Who could play the part of second in command? Who was smart enough never to disobey and if he disagreed do it tactfully, smart enough to know when to run and when to attack, smart enough to submit to his will? Robots were unreliable, so he'd learned with the E-series, Omega, and the metals, particularly Metal Sonic. He racked his brain. There was an old memory pulling at his mind. All at once his eyes lit up. He grinned wickedly. Of course, who better than him?

Before all this transpired, before the teams were together, Amy had been lounging in a lawn chair by the beach occupied in her favorite past time; daydreaming about Sonic. Big was sleeping on the beach. Cream's voice suddenly broke through her thoughts saying, "Good morning Amy, what are you doing?"

Amy was vaguely annoyed, yet she smiled affectionately at her rabbit friend then answered, "Not much Cream. What have you and Cheese been up to?"

"Chao, chao," Cheese said.

"That's right, we were picking flowers, see," Cream said as she held out a bouquet.

"Whoa, those are nice," Amy said, genuinely impressed. Cream never seemed to fail at finding beautiful blossoms.

Suddenly they heard the sounds of fighting. Both gasped then jumped up. All at once a figure flew off the edge of a roof with a shriek of terror. "Oh no!" Cream exclaimed.

"Come on Cream!" Amy ordered. She took her friends hand and rushed towards the building. Nearing it Cream took over, flying towards the falling figure. Amy was lifted with her. Amy reached out desperately and seized the figure's hand stopping its fall. "We've got you," Amy said. It was then that the person looked up. Amy gasped. "Shade!" she asked in shock.

"What are you doing here Shade? What happened?" Cream asked worriedly.

"Amy, Cream, look out!" Shade shouted pointing up. Cream looked up then gasped.

"Dr. Eggman!" she cried slowing her ascent. Eggman shot at her without a word making her cry out in pain and fall to the Earth. The three girls landed in a heap on the ground.

Amy and Shade climbed out from under Cream. "Cream, Cream, are you all right!" Amy asked worriedly. Shade looked nervous.

"Chao, chao," Cheese begged. Cream's eyes fluttered open.

She asked, "Am I alive?"

"Thank goodness it wasn't a bullet," Shade said in relief. "You're alive for now, but we won't be for much longer if he wins!" she continued pointing at the Doctor now descending in his eggmobile.

"Well, well, well, Cream and Amy. What brings you two out this fine afternoon?" Eggman asked in mock cordiality.

"We were _trying_ to enjoy the sun," Amy retorted angrily.

"Yeah, and we were having fun until _you_ came along and tried to hurt Shade," Cream angrily said.

"Oh I'm _so_ sorry ladies," Eggman sarcastically replied. With that he called, "Bots, attack!" Suddenly they were surrounded by robots, each one with weapons trained on them.

"Oh no, what do we do!" Amy asked as the three girls went back to back.

"Fight!" Shade retorted as if it were obvious. With that the orange Echidna pulled on her helmet and leapt up to face their foes. Amy pulled out her peko peko hammer and with a war cry attacked.

Cream flew into the air saying, "Go Cheese!" The little Chao instantly attacked the assailants. Desperately the three girls fought side by side. Eggman watched in growing worry.

"Hmm, this is getting to be a little too much," he said half to himself. "Robots retreat!" he ordered as he flew into the air. "We have what we came for!" With those words he lifted something up to look at it.

"No!" Shade cried.

"What?" Amy demanded.

"He has a Chaos Emerald!" Shade replied.

"Oh no, not again! How!" Cream exclaimed.

"That's right girls, and there's nothing you can do to stop me!" Eggman crowed victoriously as he held it up for them to see.

Amy instantly grabbed Cream's ankles then said to Shade, "Grab on! We're going after him!" Shade obeyed and Cream took off. The bots, however, suddenly turned on the girls and shot. Cream screamed and was forced to dive for the ground. Eggman began to laugh, but suddenly the Emerald was pulled from his hand!

"What!" he exclaimed. The three girls looked back only to see Big reeling in the Emerald!

"All right Big!" Amy cheered.

"No!" Eggman cried. The girls, though, were getting up again. He looked hesitantly at them, longingly at the Chaos Emerald, then thought the better of it saying, "You win this round ladies, but I'll be back!" With that he and his bots continued fleeing.

Amy looked at Big, who looked scared and confused, and ordered, "Big, take the Emerald to our meeting place! We'll go after Eggman. Come on Team Rose, let's go!"

"Team Rose?" Shade questioned Cream.

"We'll explain on the way," Cream said with a cheerful excited smile.

As they rushed off Amy asked, "What happened Shade?"

Shade answered, "I saw Eggman in my territory yesterday morning. I suspected he was up to no good so I began to follow him. I tailed him all the way to Tails' workshop. Tails wasn't there and Eggman got in with no problem. He blew up a safe and I saw him grab the Emeralds! I didn't know why they were there, but I knew something bad was going to happen so I showed myself. He ran, I pursued. He lost me for a while but I found him in the city on the roofs. That's where I caught up. I hid to overhear his plan but only caught some of it; not enough to be helpful. As soon as he finished talking I jumped out and caught him by surprise. I was doing fine fighting him, but suddenly from nowhere came a small army of bots that caught me off guard. One shot at me. I dodged but forgot to watch for the ledge. I lost my balance and fell."

"He has them all!" Amy exclaimed.

"No Amy, we got one from him remember?" Cream said.

"And I managed to make him lose three more. I don't know where they fell though. All in all he has three now," Shade reassured.

"Oh thank goodness," Amy sighed in relief.

"No, something was off Amy. He didn't seem too concerned. I heard him mention something about it not mattering at the moment, when I caught him on the roof, because he had another power source. I heard him mention something about Sol Emeralds?" Shade said, half asking what the Sol Emeralds were.

"Sol Emeralds!" Amy exclaimed.

"But aren't those the power source in Silver, Blaze, and Marine's dimension? You told me about that," Cream said.

"That's right. It looks like we're going to have a bit of help soon," Amy said with a smile. They then began explaining the origins of Team Rose to Shade as well as the origin of the Sol Emeralds.


	3. Team Sol

_**Painful Memories**_

_**Team Sol**_

Silver was leaning against a tree looking out over the city. He closed his eyes as a gust of fresh air assailed his senses. He smirked softly. All at once a voice called, "Silver! Silver where are you! I need your help! Something terrible has happened!"

Silver instantly perked up becoming serious. He looked back only to see Blaze float onto the scene, Marine holding onto her for a ride. Instantly worried he asked, "What? What is it?"

"The Sol Emeralds are gone Silver! Some bloke took them all while Blaze was gone mate! Only yesterday!" Marine exclaimed fearfully.

"They're gone! Who took them!" Silver demanded.

"It was Eggman. I came in with Marine just as he was disappearing into Sonic's world! We tried to go after him but I was too late. There was a violent shock wave that knocked us both out. I only woke up a little while ago with Marine shaking me. My head _still_ hurts. We need to go after him Silver. Are you with us?" Blaze demanded.

"I don't know…" Silver hesitantly began.

"Crikey, what do ya mean ya don't know?" Marine demanded.

"Someone could get hurt Marine. I don't want either of you to be harmed. You already have been. Blaze I know you're the guardian, but maybe I should go alone. This land needs you," he said.

"There's no way you're going by yourself. Silver, I sense that something big is going down. You'll need help. Marine and I will come with you," she firmly said.

"Really? I get to go along?" Marine hopefully asked.

Silver smiled affectionately then asked, "Would you stay here if we had told you to? I doubt it. I know what you're thinking. You'd have followed us."

"Bonzer!" Marine declared jumping up and down.

"Let's go. Maybe we can find Sonic and get his help," Blaze ordered. Silver nodded, Marine giggled, then they all rushed off.

A portal opened up and the three tumbled into Sonic's dimension. Rather, Marine tumbled out. Blaze flew out and Silver jumped over Marine's fallen form rolling on the ground. He looked around quickly for a threat. Satisfied he smiled, stood, then brushed dust off of his white fur. Blaze rolled her eyes affectionately. Growing serious she landed then said, "All right, we'd better start looking for Sonic.

Silver nodded, closed his eyes then focused. Marine and Blaze watched. After a moment Silver said, "He's that way. There's a city over there. He's at Angle Island. I think something's wrong. We'd better hurry."

"I'm goin on an adventure; I'm goin on an adventure," Marine sang. "Crikey I hope we get to go sailing, or maybe flying" Marine gleefully exclaimed as she jumped around.

"Calm down Marine," Blaze said in annoyance. Marine grinned apologetically, placing her hands behind her back. Silver then began to race away, Blaze and Marine following. Much to Marine's joy they were racing along the sea shore.

Blaze and Silver were more serious though, for along the shore were robots belonging to Eggman. Blaze and Silver took the mild threat seriously, but Marine was having too much fun destroying them and breaking through things to worry much. They watched their young friend carefully. Finally Silver stopped. Blaze and Marine rested also, glad for the break. Nonetheless Blaze asked, "Have you lost them?"

Silver answered ruefully, "Yeah, but I sense they're near. I think we're heading right for them.

All at once a blur of blue shot by them making them all cry out, spin, then fall to the ground. It came back and pulled to a stop. They looked up. "Sonic!" Silver exclaimed, happy to see his old ally.

"Silver, Blaze, Marine, what are you doing here?" Sonic asked. He looked back then called, "Hey, Knux, Tails, hurry up!"

"Yeah, yeah, we're hurrying," Knuckles replied as he and Tails came down the sea cliff stopping in front of the group. Knuckles frowned in confusion. Tails looked shocked. "Silver, Blaze, Marine?" Knuckles asked.

"What are you guys doing here?" Tails continued.

"Sonic, this is serious. The Sol Emeralds have been stolen by Dr. Eggman," Silver said.

"We were hoping you could help us," Blaze said.

"Eggman! Of course. Why am I not surprised?" Sonic asked.

"Oh great, this is bad," Tails said.

"What do ya mean mate?" Marine asked.

"The Chaos Emeralds are missing from my workshop too!" Tails exclaimed.

"If you hadn't left them alone this wouldn't have happened," Knuckles angrily said.

"Lay off him Knucklehead," Sonic said. He turned back to the others saying, "He's right though. This is worse than I thought. With all of them combined there's no telling what could happen. I'll tell you what, Team Sonic is at your disposal, but you have to help _us_ in return."

Silver smiled then asked, "Did you honestly think we wouldn't?"

"All right, let's get going Team Sol," Sonic said. With that the two teams took off.


	4. Team Sonic

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: The only times I will put up two chapters in one day or more is if the first one was too short. Enjoy.)

_**Team Sonic**_

Tails walked into his workshop humming. Instantly, though, he froze. His eyes widened in terror, he gasped, then he rushed towards the mess saying, "Oh no!" He slid to a stop. The Chaos Emerald's hiding place was blown to pieces and the Emeralds were gone! "The Chaos Emerald's! This isn't good! Eggman! I've got to get help!" He leapt into the air and flew off towards Angel Island where he knew Sonic and Knuckles would be.

"Come on Knuckles, you've got to get off this island sometime," Sonic teased his friend as he lounged beside the Master Emerald.

Knuckles looked disdainfully at him then replied, "Humph, my job is to guard the Master Emerald Sonic, not play games."

"So? Tuck it away in your quills and get out there. No wonder you haven't found anyone yet," Sonic taunted.

"Hey, I've had interests!" Knuckled retorted offended. Before it could go any further, though, they were interrupted.

"Knuckles, Sonic!" Tails called as he flew onto the scene.

The two looked up at the third member of their trio. "Tails, what's up?" Sonic asked as he sat up.

"Guys, the Chaos Emeralds have been stolen by Eggman!" Tails cried in fear.

"What!" the other two shouted, Sonic leaping up.

"I went into my workshop, and the place where I hid them while I was using them had been blown up! I don't know when it happened. I'm sorry Knuckles. I didn't mean to lose them," Tails said.

"Eggman has them all!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"Yeah," Tails said.

"This isn't good guys. Come on, we need to get to the bottom of this. Knux, we need your help. Leave the Master Emerald and let's go. We won't be gone long. Tikal's spirit can guard it for a while," Sonic ordered.

For once Knuckles didn't argue. Instead he agreed, "Let's go." Instantly the trio headed off.

They ended up near the beach. Tails finally asked, "Sonic, do you even know where we're going?"

Sonic replied, "Of course I do. We're going to need some help on this. Maybe on our way there we'll find an emerald. Eggman could have dropped one."

"It would be nice to know where we're going first," Knuckles said as he dispelled another small group of robots with the others. Sonic just chuckled then shot away far ahead of them. "Typical," Knuckled complained.

"Grab on Knuckles," Tails said as he began to fly. Knuckles grabbed the fox's ankles and Tails surged ahead.

"Hey Knux, Tails, hurry up!" they heard Sonic call.

So now they had met up with Team Sol. Silver, Blaze, and Marine had agreed to help. Silver and Sonic rushed ahead, the others trying to keep up. Silver finally restated the question Sonic had, until now, refused to answer. "Where are we going Sonic? What's your plan?" he questioned as they finished with a group of robots.

"We're going to need a bit of help tracking down the emeralds," Sonic replied. "A case like this requires the help of some not so famous detectives, catch my drift?"

"Oh no, you can't be serious," Knuckles complained.

"Hey, they've never let us down before," Sonic replied. "Well... It'll be fine."

"Sonic's right, we could use their help," Tails said.

"Who are they?" Blaze questioned.

"The Chaotix, some old friends," Knuckles replied. "Remember them? Vector the Crocodile the leader and brawn of the trio, Charmy Bee the six year old annoying as 'you know what' flyer of the group, and Espio the Chameleon. He's actually not too bad, I guess. He _is_ a ninja and the brains slash espionage expert of the group. He can climb walls and blend into his surroundings. He takes things more seriously than the other two."

"He's also the fastest moving," Sonic added.

"Yeah, we knew that Sonic, we've met, remember?" Silver said as if Sonic and Knuckles were idiots. Sonic frowned at him.

"Yeah, well, there's Team Chaotix detective agency right now," Sonic replied. The others looked ahead then hurried on.


	5. Team Chaotix

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Forgive me if the chapters beginning with the word 'Team' seem too short. I wanted to get them done so I could reach the main parts of the story. If you want to see more then feel free to offer suggestions. There will be two, maybe three, put up today. If three I may not update for a day or two because I haven't gotten as far in the story as I would like to.)

_**Team Chaotix**_

Vector was leaning back in his chair, feet on the table, staring up at the roof. Charmy yawned as he curled up on the couch trying to nap. Espio was looking through some papers. "Things have been so boring here. Where's the excitement?" Vector asked finally.

Charmy opened one eye, about ready to give up on a nap, then replied, "On vacation."

"Yeah, that makes... Wait, Charmy, I'm serious!" Vector shot.

"Maybe we'll get some work tomorrow," Charmy offered.

"Tomorrow's too far away for me. I want excitement _now_," Vector declared as he hit his desk with his fist.

Espio looked away from his team mates then out the window. His eyes widened and he leapt up saying, "Well we're going to get it. Here comes Silver, Sonic, Knuckles, Tails, Blaze, and Marine!"

"What!" Vector exclaimed jumping up. He ran to the window and looked out, Charmy following. Vector looked at the bee then said, "Charmy, get the door."

Charmy instantly flew to it and pulled it open just in time for the six to charge into the agency then slide to a halt. "Marine!" Charmy exclaimed happily.

"G'day Charmy," Marine said as she smiled at her acquaintance. They hadn't seen much of each other, but they knew who the other was.

"Silver, what's this all about?" Espio asked.

"Good to see you too Espio," Silver replied as he smiled at his good friend. Growing serious he explained, "The Chaos Emeralds were stolen by Eggman, so were the Sol Emeralds. We think he's planning something really big. We need to track down those emeralds fast. You're the guys for the job."

"Right," Sonic interrupted. "We're going to go our own way, but we want you guys to help us search. Are you in?"

"What's the pay like?" Charmy asked.

"Are you crazy Charmy, this is adventure!" Vector exclaimed pulling the little bee to him and waving his hand dramatically.

"Adventure," Charmy repeated in growing excitement.

"We're in. If Eggman's involved something big is going to go down. If he has the power sources of both our dimensions…We need to stop him. We can't risk _not _stopping him," Espio replied.

"Great, I knew I could count on you guys," Sonic said giving them thumbs up.

"Sonic, let's get going. We need to find those emeralds quickly," Blaze said hurrying them along.

"All right we're going," Sonic replied. "Come on guys. Let's let the Chaotix do their thing." With that the two teams left.

Espio, Vector, and Charmy were left alone. "So where should we start looking?" Espio asked Vector.

Vector thought a moment then replied, "Let's start in the city. If any emeralds have been found by anyone, chances are they're gonna be in a jewelry store or pawn shop."

"All right, the city!" Charmy exclaimed. He then sang, "We're going to the city; we're going to the city."

"Shut up Charmy. We're practically in the city already," Espio said annoyed. "Let's get going." With that the Chaotix left their agency.

Fighting robots along the way they finally made their way to the city. They walked up to the first jewelry store and entered. They froze with gasps as they saw police officers there. Espio hurried up to one then said, "Excuse me, but what's going on here?"

The officer looked at him then answered, "There's been a threat about a jewelry heist going down this afternoon. Emeralds were mentioned specifically. We're checking all the jewelry stores and pawn shops around to make sure that they know to double security."

"An emerald heist? That might mean that the emeralds really _did_ wind up in some jewelry store. Someone knows about the Emeralds and where to find them," Vector said.

"You think?" Espio sarcastically asked.

"It was in the papers yesterday that the jewelry store on the edge of the city got a strange and valuable emerald," the officer offered.

"Right, I knew that," Vector replied with an embarrassed blush.

"This is a job for Team Chaotix, right Vector?" Charmy asked.

"You bet it is Charmy," Vector said.

"Who do you suspect will try and steal it?" Charmy asked.

"My bet is on a certain robot and his friends," Vector replied. "You guys remember Omega, little Miss Rouge, and that black and red Sonic lookalike Shadow. Espio, let's go." Espio took a look around the store looking for one of the missing emeralds, but seeing none he followed his fellow detectives out.


	6. Team Babylon

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Now for the long delay in both this chapter and the last I apologize. An error report appeared that I couldn't get rid of. I found a way to bypass it though, so expect updates everyday now, or at least more often. I apologize once again and hope you enjoy. I may add another chapter today or not. I haven't decided quite yet. Remember, I'm not familiar with Sonic characters so I'm open to help on the character or the places where they are in the newer games.)

_**Team Babylon**_

Jet flipped the page of the newspaper he read while Wave was working on her hover board and Storm was helping her. His eyes lit greedily up and he chuckled. The other two looked up at him, Wave with a raised 'eyebrow.' "What is it Jet?" Storm asked as he quickly went towards his friend. Wave rose from the ground curiously. She followed Storm to the table.

She saw the article and her own eyes lit up. She smiled saying, "Now _that's_ a pretty little rock."

"Perfect for the Babylon Rogues to steal," Jet agreed.

"Whatever you say Jet," Storm loyally said.

Jet read: A strange emerald has come into the possession of the biggest jewelry store this side of the country. It has been appraised at a large sum and placed under high security. It is rumored that the government got involved upon learning of its discovery. Why this is, is as of yet uncertain. Security has been doubled. The owner brags that no thief will be able to get their hands on it.

Jet looked up saying dreamily, "Man if I…" he saw Wave scowl at him then corrected, "If _we_, pull this off I'll, I mean, we'll, be legends in the thieving world! We're so going after this gem, Chaos Emerald or not. Wave, are the hover boards ready for some serious speed?"

Wave replied with a devious smile, "You bet they are. You're a fool for doubting my abilities."

"I never said I doubted you," Jet replied. "Tonight, my friends, we make our move."

That night, the trio silently went across the city to the mentioned store. They stopped a little ways away. Jet looked at Wave saying, "Okay, you know the plan. Scout the area. Try to find an opening. We're counting on you."

"Don't worry about it. It's me you're talking to, not Tails," she said. With that she flew off.

"She really doesn't like Tails, does she Jet?" Storm asked.

"Eh, she'll get over it," he answered.

Suddenly they heard a voice call, "Froggy, where are you?"

Jet gasped. He looked back only to see a big cat walking their way worriedly. "Oh no, if he reaches us this job could be blown. Distract him Storm."

"You got it Jet," Storm replied.

Storm hurried towards the cat then called, "Hey, you, who are you looking for?"

"Huh?" Big asked as he saw the newcomer. He summed him up, decided he liked him, then replied, "I'm looking for my pal Froggy. Have you seen him? He's a frog."

Just then they heard a ribbit. "Huh?" they both said together.

They saw the frog just disappearing into an alley. "There he goes, come on!" Storm said. He and Big hurried after it.

Jet watched him disappear with the cat, rolled his eyes, then turned back to watch for Wave. What was taking her so long? She usually wasn't this slow. Had something happened to her? He felt himself getting worried. He said aloud to the air, "Come on Wave, come back."

Something grabbed him from behind and he cried out in terror whirling. He found himself looking into Wave's face. She was laughing. "You should have seen the look on your face!" she said.

"You almost gave me a heart attack! Where were you!" Jet demanded, finally calming down.

"Aw, you were worried about someone besides yourself for once," she pestered.

"You're my friend, what did you expect?" Jet asked. "Forget it, what's the news?"

She replied, "In the alley there aren't many guards. They're all on the roof or by the main and back entrances. Two guards go by the side door periodically. There's a thirty second gap between the time one leave and the other comes. We'll need to be fast, but that's our only way in. I have a device to open the door quickly. You just need to get us there swiftly."

"I can do fast," Jet said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"I'm sure you can," she said with an affectionate smile.

Just then they heard laughing. They looked back in confusion only to see Storm and the cat coming out of the alley laughing together. "Storm!" Jet shot.

"Huh, oh Jet, Wave, this is my new friend Big and his pal Froggy. You wouldn't believe the chase the little guy led us on. I caught him quickly, but Big said he was tricky. I didn't believe him and the frog got away. We chased him through the sewers but he jumped into deep water," Storm narrated.

"I had to get out my fishing rod and use all my skill to hook him. Storm threw in his favorite snacks to lure him in. I pulled him in but he managed to somehow trip Storm into the water, then I had to fish _him_ out to," Big said.

"It was hilarious," Storm said. Jet and Wave slapped their own foreheads.

"That's nice pal, but we have a job to do, remember," Jet said annoyed.

"Oh yeah, I'll see you later Big. We've got to go," Storm said.

"Okay, say bye, bye to Storm and his friends Froggy," Big replied. With that the two left.

"You and your friends. We're lucky he didn't blow it," Wave said as she shook her head.

"What?" Storm asked. She rolled her eyes.

"Never mind. Here's the plan," Jet said. With that he quickly went over the details.

They waited for a while. Finally the door was clear. Jet seized his friends then rushed onto the scene. "Fifteen seconds," he said urgently as Wave applied the device.

"Hold on, almost there," Wave said.

"Ten seconds Wave, come on," Jet said.

"It's going slower than usual Jet, I can't help it," she said getting nervous.

"Wave, three, two, one," Jet counted down.

Just then the guard appeared. "Hey, you…!" he began, but he got no farther. Suddenly Storm came out of the shadows and knocked him unconscious.

"Whoa, right on pal," Jet said.

"We didn't even know you were gone," Wave said impressed. With that the lock clicked.

Jet looked at her saying, "I should be mad at you, but we're in. That's all that matters."

"Sorry," she said, slightly offended. The Babylon Rogues then hurried inside.

They saw the red Chaos emerald mounted nicely on a pedestal. "Why can we see the lasers?" Storm asked.

"Who cares, let's go," Jet said. With that he and Wave began racing towards the pedestal on their hover boards purposely setting off the alarms. They were relying on speed here. Storm shattered the protective casing and Wave grabbed the gem.

They grinned victoriously when suddenly they were interrupted by a female voice calling, "Hey! That's ours!"


	7. Team Dark

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: And my personal favorite in what few Sonic games I've played...)

_**Team Dark**_

Rouge walked by a newspaper dispenser humming a tune and looking out for anything of interest. Suddenly she was stopped. A title caught her eye. She looked at it. It read: Strange emerald gains government interest. "Well this is a first," she said to herself.

"What is," a voice suddenly asked.

She gasped then whirled. She sighed on seeing who it was. She put her hands on her hips and angrily said, "You've got to stop doing that Shadow!"

"Doing what?" he asked.

She sighed. "Never mind, I mean this newspaper. We haven't been sent any information about a strange emerald, but the government is obviously interested."

Shadow frowned at the picture. After a moment he muttered half to himself, "Those idiots. They've done it again. Sonic is useless."

"You think it's a Chaos Emerald?" she asked half teasingly. She'd sensed as much.

"Faker can't even guard the most powerful things he's ever seen. How hasn't Eggman taken over the world yet with _him_ protecting the emeralds?" Shadow complained.

"You think Knuckles would do a better job?" Rouge teased.

"That clown? How many times has he lost the Master Emerald? Hmm, let's count," Shadow said coldly. He turned to face Rouge then seriously said, "We need to get it back Rouge. If that one is missing they're probably all missing." He seized her hand and ran towards their hideout.

"Omega, we're home," Rouge called.

The robot's eyes opened. He slowly walked away from his recharge station. On seeing them he said, "Subjects Shadow and Rouge seem preoccupied."

"Eggman is after the Chaos emeralds again," Rouge said. "We know where one is, but we're going to have to steal it. Fortunately treasure hunting and theft is my forte," she said with a smile. "We might need your help. Can we count on you?" Rouge asked.

"I do not fail," he answered as he cocked his gun arm.

"Good, we move in tonight," Rouge declared. "Team Dark rides again."

"Humph," Shadow said.

Rouge flew towards the jewelry store with the other two holding onto her ankles. She landed on a roof then said, "Man Shadow, you need to lose weight," she teased, knowing full well Omega was the heavy one. Shadow looked coldly at her and she asked innocently, "What?" He rolled his eyes.

Looking down at the roof he said, "It's crawling with guards. We can handle them easily enough. Omega, you'll need to break open the air vent. I'll take care of the guards. Chaos Control should freeze them long enough to make our move. There may not be beams inside I can transport us to. If we set off the lasers our cover is blown. Rouge is good at avoiding accidents like that though."

"Agreed," Omega said.

"Let's move then," Rouge said. With that she flew upwards. Shadow grabbed her ankles, Omega grabbed Shadow's, then they flew swiftly from the roof.

The guards spotted them. "Hey, you…!" One began.

The others turned, raising their guns, but right then Shadow said, "Chaos Control!"

"Go Omega!" Rouge ordered. Omega ripped off the air vent like nothing. Rouge instantly swooped inside. Omega followed and was able to grab her ankles. Shadow then leapt after them.

Rouge had sprayed a laser reveling powder down. She saw the confusing net and smiled. "Too easy," she said as she looked at Omega and Shadow who she had perched on a figure head below the air duct entrance just above the lasers. She prepared to swoop down, but all at once three figures darted into the room setting off the alarms! "What," she gasped. She looked back at her friends only to see them just as shocked.

They watched the intruders reach the glass in seconds. The biggest one broke the glass easily. The girl scooped up the gem. They smiled victoriously and right then Rouge shook out of her shock and called, "Hey! That's ours!"

The second team looked up. Shadow exclaimed loudly, "The Babylon Rogues!"

"Shadow, Rouge, Omega!" Jet exclaimed in anger and shock. They hadn't seen them for a long time.

Rouge instantly swooped down towards them. Shadow leapt from his perch. Omega glided down. Landing in front of their temporary rivals Shadow said quietly, yet menacingly, "Hand the Chaos Emerald over."

"A Chaos Emerald? Is that what this is? I never would have guessed," Jet sarcastically replied.

"You want it come and get it freaks!" Wave shot. With that the Rogues made a break for it.

"Get back here!" Rouge shouted.

"Terminate opponents," Omega said.

"That robot is freaky!" Storm said as Team Dark gave pursuit.


	8. Unity Of The Teams

_**Painful Memories**_

_**Unity Of The Teams**_

It wasn't long before Team Dark caught Team Babylon. It started the instant Shadow Chaos Controlled right in front of Jet and tackled him from his hover board! Shadow began striking, but Jet managed to defend himself. Wave and Storm had instantly stopped. "Jet!" Wave cried. She charged towards the fighting pair, but Rouge saw the attack on Shadow nearing.

"Oh no you don't!" she exclaimed as she flew right into Wave. The two flew into the air beginning to battle.

"Hold on guys!" Storm said.

"Subject Storm the Albatross must be stopped," Omega said as he moved in front of Storm. Storm gasped in terror, sliding to a stop, but he got over it then tackled the robot taking him off guard!

The two battles were raging, growing more intense, but all at once Shadow and Jet were pulled apart. Jet was thrown viciously to the ground. He gasped in pain. Shadow cried out as he was viciously struck by some unseen force.

This distracted the two fighting flyers, but all at once Wave saw something coming at them. She gasped. Rouge saw the sign and turned. Both girls felt a sharp sting within seconds and fell to the ground momentarily shocked. The attacker laughed happily, coming to a halt merely hovering above them.

Storm and Omega felt themselves being lifted from the ground and held apart. They were suddenly slammed together and fell. They looked up at the intruder and scowled.

"Vector, look, I beat them!" the flying attacker exclaimed.

"Good for you Charmy," Vector replied to the bee as he himself smirked down at his 'vanquished' and shocked foes, Omega and Storm. "Come on out Espio."

Jet began to rise; Shadow began to move; but it was then that the third figure appeared. "Stay down, and give me the Chaos Emerald," Espio ordered them.

"Make me," Shadow replied with a cold smirk. With that he attacked. Jet leapt up and ran at both of them figuring he could take them both on.

Omega suddenly cocked his gun arm and let out a barrage of fire! Vector hit the ground with a cry of alarm. Storm was now up. Omega quickly rose. The three got into their own battle. Charmy saw something wasn't right. He looked fearfully down at the two angry women. "Uh oh," he squeaked. The two leapt up furiously and flew at their foe. Charmy tried to flee screaming, but Wave caught him. Rouge tackled her to take the bee for herself. The three flyers then engaged in battle.

However, before it got too far, a new presence made itself known. Not guards, not police, but a familiar laugh that froze all three teams. They gasped and whirled. "I'll take this," the figure said. They then noticed that the red Chaos Emerald was lying forgotten on the ground!

"Eggman!" they all exclaimed as together they leapt for it. Eggman was quick, though, and he had scooped it up before they could fully process the situation.

"How thoughtful of you to get it for me," Eggman said to them.

"Not this time Eggman!" Espio shot. With that he lunged at Eggman. As if through mutual consent, Shadow lunged at the same time. Jet was quick to follow, then the others. Eggman cried out in terror. He hadn't expected the onslaught.

They fought determinedly. He swooped down in his eggmobile trying to attack Team Babylon. They were quick, though. "Babylon Rogues, together!" Jet cried out. They began to circle him on their hover craft in a predatory bird type of way, circling their prey. All together they dove at him. He cried out in pain then pulled back.

He began to let out a barrage of gun fire, but the three teams easily avoided it. He then swooped towards Team Chaotix. "Chaotix, go!" Vector ordered. They swiftly pulled off their signature team move. Eggman pulled back once more.

One last time he tried, this time swooping for Team Dark. "Dark, attack!" Rouge ordered. Omega let out a circle of gunfire as Rouge flew above it and Shadow raced under. Rouge attacked Eggman with a kick as Shadow hit the hovercraft from below sending it spiraling back into the main room.

The three teams quickly followed. They saw the seemingly crashed hovercraft and the beaten Doctor. Shadow went up to the fallen Chaos Emerald picking it up. "Not this time," Shadow said, repeating Espio's statement. The others came up to him. He turned to face them. "Listen; before we start this ridiculous battle again we need this emerald for Sonic."

"Sonic? He told _us_ to help him find the emeralds," Vector said. Shadow raised an eyebrow.

"Wait, they're _all_ missing? Eggman took them all, not just one. I thought it was just that," Jet said in disbelief.

"Eggman doesn't do things half way Jet," Espio replied.

"So we're all on the same side?" Charmy asked in confusion.

"It seems that way," Wave said begrudgingly. She looked longingly at the emerald.

Rouge smiled then said, "Back off sister, it's mine." Wave smirked ruefully, catching the only half serious tone.

"Oh well, it's diamonds that are a girl's best friend," Wave said.

"Hmm I like the way you think," Rouge said.

Their guards were down, and that was a mistake, for suddenly Shadow felt the emerald leave his hand! He hardly had time to realize it before a wave of pain shot through him and he cried out! "Shadow!" Rouge exclaimed as her friend fell to the ground. She rushed to his side then looked up only to see the emerald in Eggman's grasp!

"At last! With the power of both the Sol and Chaos Emeralds my empire shall be realized in mere days!" he gloated. As if to prove his point he drew out one Sol Emerald along with the Chaos Emerald then put them near each other. The power surge was obvious. He looked at them maliciously then said, "Now for you."

He was cut off, though, when suddenly, from nowhere, spun Silver and Sonic! They kicked Eggman in the back of the head making him drop the single Sol and Chaos Emeralds. Blaze and Tails swooped in grasping the emeralds while they fell as Sonic and Silver rolled to a stop next to Shadow. On seeing him their victorious smiles fell. "What happened to him?" Silver demanded.

"I don't know," Rouge worriedly said.

Shadow, however, sat up saying, "I'm fine, just dizzy."

"What! Impossible!" Eggman started. However, just then Knuckles and Marine attacked him from behind. Eggman was just barely able to desperately make the badly battered craft fly away from the attacking groups. He didn't dare go back for the emeralds. "This isn't over! I'll be back!" he yelled. The flyers were coming at him though. There was no time to say anything else. He just fled the scene desperately.

The groups were beginning to relax when Amy's voice called, "Sonic!"

"Oh no," he muttered. He turned to face her then asked, "What are you doing here?"

Knuckles saw Shade, gasped, then said in pleasant surprise, "Shade? Why are _you_ here?"

"I missed you too," she said with a small smile.

"We saw Eggman leaving. I guess we just missed the battle," Cream said.

Seeing all the others Amy looked confused. She recovered though. "We'll explain everything on the way to the meeting place. Big has a blue Emerald that we managed to get from Eggman. It's a long story," Amy said.

"You know Big?" Storm asked.

"You've met him?" Cream asked in surprise.

"Just tonight," Jet replied for the Babylon Rogues.

"It seems we've _all_ got a lot of explaining to do," Sonic said. "All we know for certain is that we're all on the same side here. Let's get going." With that they left talking of their adventures.

Eggman had determined that he had three Chaos Emeralds, all of the Sol Emeralds but one, two Chaos Emeralds were lost somewhere, and only one, now, was hidden since Sonic and his little friends had the other. One Sol Emerald and two Chaos Emeralds in their favor; it wasn't awful for him at least. It was after this that Sonic had gone to the roof and the others had searched, and Amy had found him. Eggman, recalling this, hurried his quest to find the help he needed. Only a matter of time now… oh how he hoped this wouldn't be a mistake.


	9. The Incident: Memores Of A Bounty Hunter

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Besides the mentioned villains in this chapter, whom I have kept in character but intensified, there will be one more character I will add to make it a team. Care to harbor a guess as to who. I'm putting up two chapters, not because this one is too short, but because the next is tied in with it.)

_**The Incident: Memories Of A Bounty Hunter**_

How could this have happened? He was the greatest bounty hunter to ever grace the universe with his presence! He was once his own master, an independent contractor. It was only him. Then he joined up with Dingo. It wasn't all bad at least. Dingo was useful in his own way. Yet here he was now, slaving under Doctor Ivo Eggman Robotnick, trying to catch the three most annoying hedgehogs in the universe! Or, he had been, until the incident.

He referred to it as the incident because, well, frankly there wasn't anything else to call it. A flash of light then suddenly everyone was gone but Dingo. He supposed technically he was his own master again, no longer chasing the Sonic Underground, but he couldn't shake the feeling that the Doctor would return. How could he though; he was dead, wasn't he? Then why did he still see himself as hired help? Eggman had disappeared into thin air along with the royal triplets.

What of their mother? Yes, what of the woman who had appeared just in time to save her precious baby boy Manic from being roboticized that one time? He could have finished Manic then, but something inside him prevented him. Call it self-preservation maybe. Instead he'd run like a coward on seeing her face again, her chasing him off by her mere presence. The woman whose face haunted his memories... What of her? Did she watch her children disappear? Did she disappear with them? Was she there with Sleet and Dingo just out of sight, or was she transported away with Robotnick? Only _he_ knew. Not right away, but soon after. He knew the answer. At least back then he did. What of her _now_ though? At least he was free of his master though. Or so he'd hoped since the incident. What was it, years? He'd lost track of time.

Just then that bumbling idiot Dingo rushed in interrupting his pacing and making him growl. "Sleet, Sleet!" Dingo cried in his Australian accented voice as he waved his hands in a panic.

Sleet seized his throat, dragging him close, then demanding in his own accented voice, "What do you want you bumbling fool!"

"S-S-S-S-Sleet, it-it's Dr. Robotnick!" Dingo stammered fearfully.

Sleet gasped, paling. Impossible… then why wasn't he completely surprised? "What! How! Where!" He heard the sound of robots tramping towards the room! He sensed these weren't the robots he once knew. At least not exactly.

He turned to his desk seizing the device he used to help Dingo shape shift. "Sleet, what are you doing?" he asked fearfully.

"What does it look like idiot? Hiding you so you won't say something stupid and wind up getting us killed! Now stay quiet!" Sleet retorted, zapping him. He must have been terrified, because Sleet didn't hear the usual complaints that came with Dingo changing form. Dingo morphed slowly into an orange. Sleet bent down, picked him up, then placed him on his desk, or table, whatever he felt like calling it. Sleet turned Dingo's face from the door then whirled around to face it himself just as Eggman's robots burst in!

Without hesitation they went up to the wolf and seized him roughly. They viciously punched him in the stomach, lifted him up, then threw him onto the table brutally. In that helpless position they held him down. He saw Dingo looking at him in horror. "Ah Sleet; I've finally tracked you down. After our unfortunate separation I feared I'd never see my favorite bounty hunter again," Eggman's unmistakable voice said as Sleet saw the round figure's dark outline slowly emerge, Eggman lazily clapping.

"Sir, you look well," Sleet said as he grinned nervously trying to flatter the man. He _did_ look different.

"You were always my most promising employee; you and that Dingo character. Then again, _you_ were always the brains. Dingo was all brawn. I won't hesitate to tell you I wasn't only a little bit disappointed that you two never tried to track me down. After all, a bounty hunter of your talents should have easily found Station Square, Emerald City, the Green Hill Zone, all those places you know. For that matter, Sonic as well," he said. "Why haven't you yet?"

"Ah heh, yes, well, you see, that is…"Sleet stammered.

"Shut up!" Eggman ordered. Sleet fell silent with a whimper. "Now I could beguile you with tales of all the things that have happened to Sonic over the last long while… Actually, I think I will. My request can wait."

"Request?" Sleet hopefully asked.

"My order. You still work for me," Eggman said.

"Of course, why am I not surprised?" Sleet bitterly said.

"What was that?" Robotnick asked.

"Uh, oh please continue with your Sonic tales your greatness," Sleet said, not apologizing in the least, yet not being defiant enough to end up another of Eggman's victims.

His ego stroked now, Eggman began. Sleet was relieved. He _was_ curious about the actions of the Sonic Underground. Well, apparently only Sonic alone. The triplets must have been separated. Queen Aleena would have had no clue where they were. She would have been frantic. She _was_, if he recalled correctly that is. He allowed himself to hang on every word. Sonic's friends, an ultimate life form, a bat thief, the future, Sol emeralds, Babylon Rogues, the list went on. Metal Sonic, Mephiles, the E-series of robots, that intrigued him, Black Doom, his head was swimming with all the adventures. Why on Earth did Eggman need _him_? Well, he hadn't caught Sonic yet despite everything. He must be getting desperate. He could see how Eggman could so easily forget his old foes. Sonia, Manic, Aleena, them, but he was back now. Something was up. Maybe he hadn't quite forgotten them at all. Finally Robotnick finished saying, "Now that you're up to date, let's get down to business."

"Wow," Sleet heard Dingo moan in mental pain. It was too much for the idiot to take, but Sleet fully agreed with his statement. Wow.

"You must be wondering why, after all this time, I've come to find you," Eggman said.

"Oh of course, such a pleasant surprise master," he sarcastically replied. He heard a robot gun charging up, gasped, then added, "I-I mean, Dingo and I have missed serving you so much your amazingness, your roundness, oh great and powerful, genius, overlord wannabe, boss." The gun clicked. "Ahh! I mean overlord! Not wannabe, not wannabe! Get these guns out of my face!"

Obviously pleased with the flattery, Eggman waved the bot down. He then grew deadly serious. He scowled at his ex-ex-bounty hunter then went on, "The threat of the prophecy is still very real to me. Don't think I've forgotten about dear Sonia and skater hog Manic. Or about queen Aleena for that matter." Sleet knew it was too good to be true, his freedom, that is, and the hope that Robotnick would just up and forget about the royal family.

He swallowed then said reluctantly, not wanting to go through it all again, "Yes?"

"I want them found and taken care of Sleet. I want them in my hands, dead or alive. Preferably alive. All my still loyal robots are at your command from the most pathetic to the most powerful. Consider yourself my first Lieutenant General. Leave Sonic for now. His friends and allies are too powerful together. You'll have to split them up. Avoid fighting them all together at all costs. First, though, get yourself back in practice. Go after Sonia and Manic. They're alive. I know they are. That's one advantage we have over Sonic," Eggman said.

"How do you know?" Sleet quickly asked, making Eggman raise an eyebrow.

Robotnick liked what he saw in the wolf's eyes. "Ooh more eager than ever. I like that." With that he pulled from a pocket a strange device. "This is a tracker I developed to fine the triplets medallions. As for Aleena, well, she'll be wherever her children are, with exception to Sonic I suppose. She long ago lost track of him. I would have found her myself by now if she hadn't. It was a long time before I found the wavelength to tap into to track the medallions powers. Ironically, it was on the same one I used to find you. Now, how do you explain that?"

"Dingo and I were the last ones to see them sire," Sleet answered. "My suit may have absorbed the fading medallions powers before they disappeared."

Eggman looked vaguely surprised. He'd come up with a lot of ideas, but he actually hadn't thought of that possibility. "Hmm, clever," he said, obviously impressed that Sleet picked up on something he truly never considered. "Anyway, Sonic _will_ come right to you if he hears news of his siblings. Maybe in our next confrontation I'll drop the hint. Headstrong and fool hardy as always he'll run right into it alone, leaving his friends in the dark. Then, old friend, he's yours."

"Oh excellent sir. I can hardly wait," Sleet said with a cruel smirk. He then began to laugh evilly. Dingo began to snicker, but Sleet shot him a dangerous look. He clammed up.

"That's what I like to hear from my henchmen, obedience. Goodness knows I've been betrayed enough," Eggman complained. He then ordered, "Robots, let him go and head out! We set up our new base here.

"Here!" Sleet exclaimed in fury and panic. He was in no position to argue though. 'Suck it up Sleet,' he thought to himself. Instantly the robots powered by animals and who knew what else, let Sleet go. They started away.

Sleet painfully stood again, putting a hand to his head and muttering under his breath. Right before leaving, though, Eggman turned to his bounty hunter. Sleet instantly fell silent putting his hands behind his back then grinning innocently. "Oh, and Sleet, this is your last chance. Mark my words. I've outgrown robotocizing, for the most part, but then there are so many other painful ways to deal with those who disappoint me. Don't be one of them. This time it isn't a lie. You _will_ die if you fail. No questions asked.

Sleet's fear returned, after chasing defiance out, to focus on self-preservation. He hung his head then replied, "Oh yes sir. I won't let you down."

"Good, because Dingo doesn't have to worry. He's too stupid to know up from down. He'd make a fine body guard. But a traitorous man like yourself… You get the picture. I can't have another threat to my empire." Sleet swallowed then nodded. With that, Eggman and his entourage left the room with Eggman saying, "Come and see me after you've found your elusive sidekick."


	10. The Incident: A Queen's Recollections

_**Painful Memories**_

_**The Incident: Sleet's Memories And The Queen's Recollections**_

Sleet instantly returned to scowling and sulking. He zapped Dingo back to normal after roughly knocking him to the floor. "Ow," Dingo moaned, rubbing his head. He shook it off. "What are we gonna do Sleet?" he questioned fearfully.

"We obey him of course idiot! What other choice do we have!" Sleet replied.

"So we're getting new neighbors? Oh boy!" Dingo excitedly declared.

"No! Not oh boy!" Sleet yelled. Quickly he got control of himself though. He then said in a calmer tone, "But I admit I look forward to experimenting with his new toys. This could be fun." He chuckled evilly then continued, "Come Dingo. Let's go help our boss settle then begin our hunt."

"All right, oh Sonia," Dingo said in longing.

Sleet rolled his eyes saying, "You aren't going to lay a hand on Princess Sonia! Get it through your head! How did I get stuck with a moron like you?"

"Sorry Sleet," Dingo apologized.

"Not half as much as I am," Sleet retorted.

"So who will we go after first?" Dingo asked. Sleet paused. Dingo nearly walked into him but managed to stop in time. "Sleet?" Dingo asked.

Sleet looked at the gadget Eggman had given him. Dingo watched curiously as his 'friend' petted it with a finger. Finally Sleet opened it. Dingo gasped in awe when he saw a pink hedgehog dot and a green hedgehog dot appear on the radar somewhere quite a long ways away, back on Mobius in fact. Actually, back in Mobodoon. It wasn't too far to reach in good time though. Sleet suddenly spoke saying, "Where her children are Queen Aleena is bound to be. If we take her, the children will come. If we focus on Sonia or Manic she will step in and we'll have them all. Either way we win. Let's play it by ear for the most convenient opportunity."

"How do ya know she's not watching Sonic or us mate?" Dingo asked.

Sleet closed his eyes seriously then chuckled cruelly. "Ah Dingo, there are some things I know more about than even the oh so great Dr. Eggman. Just because _he_ put them on the back burner didn't mean _I_ would. Of course, I haven't found out anything new since, well, since we returned here empty handed after the incident. As for how I know she's not following Sonic… Eggman just said he would have found her if she had been. Besides, I knew it even before him."

"Ooh, is it story time Sleet?" Dingo asked.

"Yes Dingo, if you want to call it that," Sleet replied with a cruel smile.

"I'm listenen mate," Dingo said attentively.

"She was separated from her children, stuck with us. Of course I didn't know that at first, but that same night I saw her as we were camping on the cliff spot, hoping for either Robotnick or Sonic Underground to return. I moved, she heard and saw. We both fell silent, but she never stayed around to snoop more. She ran. I followed her. She knew I was following. She never went to the hideout of the freedom fighters, that is, assuming there was one nearby. I think it took her only seconds to realize she couldn't lose her pursuer. She ran to a clearing and collapsed in tears, weeping for her children. She thought I would take her then and there if not kill her. I know she thought it."

"Did you?" Dingo asked in awe of his partner.

Sleet fell silent, cruel smirk leaving, falling to a quiet expression. After a time he replied, "No…" Seeing Dingo's face he quickly added, "I don't know why I didn't. I regret it now though. I suppose I thought she would lead me to her children again. When you were asking me those stupid questions about where we were going and I said I was trying to find someone, I meant her, not a client or somebody to tell me what we were doing in a human-like world. Only _I_ knew that we were right on her tail. A long while later, maybe months, maybe years, I realized that she had found one of her children. She seemed to be more hopeful and not wallowing in despair. Only a few more days later she found the other. She slowly began to sink into dejection again though. I wondered why at first, but the night she finally shook me I realized that she was mourning. She couldn't find Sonic. She thought he was dead. I felt differently, I don't know who told her he was dead or what gave her the idea, but she believed he was gone. I was in a good mood, sure she wouldn't shake me, so I stupidly left her alone again, having fun with the tracking. The next morning I'd lost her."

"So, they think Sonic's dead, and _he_ thinks _they're_ dead," Dingo said.

Sleet nodded saying, "It will make it all the more easy to capture them during their joyous reunion; all four of them." With that he laughed. Dingo joined him. They entered the room where Eggman's robots were beginning to transform Sleet's hideaway into a base.

The wind blew through her hair as she stood on the rock, looking over the land, tears in her eyes, remembering.

I've lost track of time since that day. How long has it been? Months, years? I am no longer sure. My children were fighting their enemies. I could hardly bear to stay away from them. I wanted desperately to show myself. I was within an arm's reach of them hiding. Then, just like that, they were gone, all of them. Only Sleet and Dingo remained. I thought it had been their fault, but they looked just as shocked and confused as I. Where were my children?

I remember overhearing Sleet and Dingo's plan to camp the night on the cliff in case Eggman or the Underground returned. I remember sneaking into their camp to look for clues, to know for sure whether or not they were behind it. He heard me, the traitorous creature. He came flamboyantly out of the tent. We met each other's eyes for a shocked moment then I ran. I heard him following me for a time, then nothing, yet I knew he was there. Always there, haunting my footsteps, Sleet.

I knew I couldn't escape. Within seconds I'd known it. I felt hopeless. My dear children had been taken from me. I didn't know whether they were alive or dead. I recall remembering the first time I almost lost one of them, Manic. Sleet was in the process of robotacizing the boy. If he only knew, that cursed wolf. When I appeared he was in awe, then he ran from me the instant he fully realized. He spared Manic then, though he could have easily finished him, but I think, I know, that he wanted only to save his own life. That was the first time in years, with the exception of the bogus wedding to Eggman, that I had looked upon his face from such a short distance. It hadn't changed, except that this time there was nothing that could be salvaged.

I remember finally giving up, knowing I could never escape him, believing I would never see my children again. After this, if he ever found the children, he wouldn't go as easy on them as he had been. He wouldn't underestimate them again. My heart was on the border of being shattered and I just… I just collapsed in a forest clearing sobbing, waiting to feel him roughly drag me up and take me captive or kill me. Eventually I was to wish he had, but he didn't. I don't dare to fathom why not. I was completely vulnerable, totally at his mercy, but all I felt were his eyes upon me, his presence lingering over my prone figure, looking bitterly down. I had no fight left in me. I fell asleep, though, beneath his merciless gaze. He'd never made a move. Maybe there was some humanity yet left in him to pity a grieving mother?

I wandered everywhere looking for my children. They were following me, the bounty hunters, but I was passed caring. Dingo was probably clueless. I had my first sign of hope when I came upon a sewer in a strange city filled with humans. Worlds had somehow converged. How I know not. There was a necklace about my neck, my own. It began to glow green and I knew Manic was alive. I went into the sewer to find him. There he was, sitting on the dry walkway weeping for his siblings, for a mother. My heart broke for my son and I longed to go to him. However, I needed to find Sonia and Sonic. I joined him in weeping. Then I saw a friend of his coming towards him. At least I assumed so. Manic was at ease, so I continued on my journey.

Days passed until finally, far from where I'd left Manic, my necklace began to glow pink. My daughter was alive! I could hardly contain myself. I found her in a rich neighborhood park. Of course she would go where she felt at ease. She was sitting on a swing crying. I myself joined her in weeping from my hiding place. I had found two of them, now I had to join them together. I was afraid of what they would do to themselves if they thought all was lost. I couldn't risk waiting to find Sonic. Together Sonia and Manic would search for him, and I would search myself. We would find him. So I stepped out from behind the tree and began to softly hum a song I sang to them once as children. Sonia recognized it and looked up. I disappeared. She called to me.

"Mother? Mama, please, come back!" she sobbed, screamed. "Mom, I need you! Please, I need you so much!"

I couldn't turn back, couldn't comfort her though I wanted so badly to. I knew by now that it was still too soon. She understood soon enough that I would not leave her, yet I wouldn't come back to her. She sensed I was leading her to her siblings. I could tell from the way her eyes lit up hopefully. I led her straight to the city. When night fell I would motion for her to rest before fading into the darkness. When she was out in the open I would often wait for her to fall asleep then stroke her hair softly, watching her. When we reached the strange city I took her to the sewers. Her dislike about getting dirty never stopped her this time. Her necklace had begun to glow.

Soon I simply pulled into a different branch of the sewer. She ran by shouting Manic's name and Sonic's. He heard. He called her suddenly, desperately, from down the branch I had dodged into. "Sonia? Sonia, wait, please!"

I let him see me. He called for me, but I ran. He followed. All at once I saw Sonia coming towards us and I jumped to the sewer pipes high up to hide. The two saw each other. There was a long pause, then in seconds they were in each others arms sobbing, talking, asking about each other, about me, about where Sonic was. I listened to their reunion, to their vow to find Sonic, all the while waiting for the bounty hunters to show up, but they didn't. As the two walked away I jumped down and began searching for my little lost boy.

I remember my heart shattering when I could find no trace of him; shattering again when Sonia and Manic finally gave up thinking him dead and began mourning. It was only days later that I too had to face facts. My son was dead… I couldn't go on any longer. I broke down weeping, sobbing, calling for him, calling for Sleet to take me already. I felt his cruel eyes watching me, hearing my words. He still never came. My son is dead. I didn't want to live. I had to though, for the other two, so I finally managed to shake the hunters. My son is dead…

She was now crying uncontrollably. She collapsed to her knees burying her face in her hands. She had to stop, had to be strong. She had to protect the remainder of her offspring, to help them, because goodness knew their father wouldn't. It was time to stop mourning, time to face her enemies head on. There was a time and place to remember, but now was not that time. Eggman, or Robotnick, had returned, she sensed it, and he was more powerful than ever before.


	11. A Preliminary Faceoff

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: If I get enough reviews for this chapter before the end of the day I may add another, maybe two. I'm almost done the final draft anyway so I'm in a good mood.)

_**A Preliminary Face-off  
**_

Sonia and Manic walked down the streets of the city they were born in, the city they'd returned to when they were certain their brother was dead. They were silent. Finally Manic said, "It's been so long since… since…"

Sonia looked sadly at the ground finishing, "Since the incident? Since Sonic…" She swallowed over a lump in her throat.

"I miss him sis," Manic said, voice cracking.

"I know Manic, me to," she meekly replied, giving her brother a squeeze.

"Sonia, what if he…" Manic began.

"Look brother, don't even say it! He's gone! We can't chase a dream! I would give anything to have him back, but you can't bring back the dead!" Sonia shouted in misery. Manic was frightened at first, but she burst into tears and he forgot his fear. He quickly hugged her, trying to sooth her.

Suddenly screams were heard. Instantly Sonia and Manic came out of their melancholy with gasps. People were running away towards them. Instantly alarmed Manic cried, "Whoa, what's the rush!"

"Come on, let's check this out!" Sonia declared, seizing her brother's wrist and dragging him along.

All at once, right in front of them, a robot leapt down and began shooting his machine-gun like arm! The two siblings screamed and threw themselves to the earth to avoid the hail of bullets. Other robots soon followed. "Whoa, what is this! It can't be Robuttnick, he disappeared too! Besides, these guys are, I don't know, different! His robots were never like this!"

"Let's not ask questions!" Sonia yelled back. She instantly touched her medallion. "Good, it actually worked this time."

"Shoot first, ask questions later? Sounds good to me!" Manic replied, getting into the thrill of the fight and trying not to remember that this time Sonic wasn't here. He touched his own medallion. Sonia began shooting the offending squad. Manic threw his symbols then banged on the drums until the Earth split beneath some of the robots. Sonia and Manic met each others eyes grinning. Their victory was cut short, though, when suddenly Sonia was hit with a powerful blast! She flew back screaming in pain! "Sonia!" Manic cried. He instantly rushed to her with a symbol and rolled just in time to hold up the shield, saving her from a hail of gunfire.

"That was unbelievable," she said in awe.

"Thanks," he replied.

"Not you, the robot!" Sonia said. "Manic, these aren't normal!"

Suddenly a new voice spoke saying, "Oh aren't they?"

Manic and Sonia gasped, looking up. "Sleet!" they both exclaimed as they saw the wolf on a hover craft, rather, Dingo as a hover craft. "You're alive!" then continued in absolute shock.

"Of course I am," he replied.

"How!" Sonia demanded. He simply smirked.

"Sonia," Dingo said dazedly.

"Blech," she grumbled.

Manic moved in front of his sister protectively saying, "Hey, stay away from my sister creep!"

"I think you'll find that nowadays these are the norm for Dr. Eggman," Sleet continued, ignoring Manic's hostility towards Dingo, and simply correcting Sonia. He then chuckled.

"Eggman? Why didn't _I_ think of that?" Manic questioned.

"These are normal!" Sonia asked fearfully. She then shook her head and called up, "How are you two here! You disappeared!"

"We came back for a little reunion," Sleet answered. He mock frowned as he surveyed them then tauntingly said, "Wait, aren't you triplets? Where's the third?" Sonia and Manic's misery returned to their eyes and they looked down.

"Now don't worry children. You'll join your brother soon," Sleet said coldly. "Robots, attack!" he ordered.

Just then, though, a bola came from nowhere wrapping around the wolf! Sleet cried out in alarm, losing his balance, then fell from Dingo! The robots turned in time to meet with a sword!

"Mother!" Sonia and Manic exclaimed. They looked at each other then instantly called out their weapons again to help.

Queen Aleena, however, slowly made her way towards the fallen, bound, and now struggling to reach the shape shifting remote, Sleet. "Sleet, look out!" Dingo cried. Sleet gasped, looking up in time to be seized by the collar and pulled up to face Aleena dead on!

The momentary fear instantly dissolved, though. There was stunned silence. "Ah Aleena, it's been a long time. Too long," he finally said with an evil grin.

"That's _Queen_ Aleena to you Sleet," she replied. She held the blade to his throat hissing, "Call them off."

"You wouldn't kill me," Sleet challenged. She merely looked him seriously in the eyes, pushing the blade closer so he felt it pricking into his neck fur. He swallowed, looked at the robots, then called, "Retreat, they've had a taste of what's coming!" Instantly the bots stopped attacking then began to leave. Sleet looked Aleena dead in the eyes saying, "Run away, Aleena, before your children reach you. If you hold them in your arms again you may never let go. Just like you haven't let go of that little blue blur of yours, Sonic."

This was met by a slap in the face, rather a strike with the hilt of the sword,

and the grieving mother screaming, "How dare you!" Sonia and Manic had frozen with gasps at Sonic's name.

"He still lives Aleena. He thinks you're all dead. But Eggman will change that soon enough. Be prepared my queen; this is nothing compared to some creatures he has," Sleet warned. His hand closed on the shape shifting device, as Aleena's shock had frozen her as well as Sonia and Manic at the mention that Sonic was alive, and none thought to stop him. He zapped Dingo normal. Dingo landed then ran to Sleet tearing off the bola. Before Aleena could gasp Sleet had seized her and stolen a taunting kiss. He then zapped Dingo into a motor bike and rode off.

Finally Aleena's shock left her. She looked back at her children whose eyes were filled with tears. "Mother?" Manic meekly said. She sobbed, cloaked her head again, then disappeared in a smoke screen.

"Mommy, no, don't leave! We need your help to find Sonic!" Sonia begged as she and her brother ran to no avail. Aleena was gone again. Manic came up behind Sonia and placed a hand on her shoulder. They looked at each other. They were on their own to find Sonic.


	12. Sonic's Memories Made Known

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: I decided to add this chapter and one more just because. Enjoy this rare treat.)

_**Sonic's Memories Made Known**_

"Where could Sonic be?" Charmy asked the others who were gathered in the house.

"Maybe we should go out and look for him again mate," Marine suggested.

"Amy's still gone. When she gets back we can decide what to do," Shade simply said.

"Oh and what if she doesn't come back? What if something's happened to them?" Blaze replied. "I vote we go out looking for them."

"Froggy and me agree," Big said. The frog with him croaked.

Cream and Shade looked at each other doubtfully. Cream then said, "Oh I'm sure Amy's fine. She can take care of herself, well for the most part anyway, and if Sonic's with her they're probably on their way back right now."

"Sure, let's just chill here for a bit longer until those morons come back," Wave said casually from her place between Jet and Storm.

"Well I for one think that you're putting too much faith in Pinky's abilities," Rouge said.

"Easy Rouge, Amy's a good fighter and you know it," Espio said simply.

"We Chaotix can go take a look around if you really want us to," Vector declared.

"Subject: Chaotix; Mission: find Sonic and Amy; Hoped for outcome: Failure; Conclusion: Huzzah, subject Vector Crocodile will be terminated." Omega said.

"Huzzah huh? You want to go robot!" Vector challenged.

"Failure is unacceptable," Omega replied, readying his guns.

"Hey, cool it guys, we're back," Sonic said as he and Amy entered.

"Sonic, where have you been?" Storm asked.

"He was on the roof," Amy answered for him.

"Again? What do you do up there?" Silver asked.

"Remember," Sonic said after a moment. Amy sadly looked down.

"Remember, huh? Everyone remembers," Shadow coldly said.

"Even if the memories are fake, huh Shadow," Sonic retorted.

Shadow bared his teeth and went into a fighting stance. "Easy Shadow, you know Sonic has a tendency to go over the line," Silver worriedly said, trying to calm the black hedgehog. Shadow looked coldly at him. However, he did relax, and instead of speaking he turned to look out a window.

Amy looked at Sonic seriously then said, "I think now's as good a time as ever Sonniku. Tell them. They're our friends. They deserve to know." Now the others looked intrigued. Even Shadow glanced suspiciously back. Sonic sighed deeply, looked at his audience, then repeated everything he had told Amy.

It was no secret that they were shocked beyond words. Sonic had siblings? Even Shadow looked interested. When Sonic told of the disappearance, Rouge noticed the subtle change in her friend. Sympathy? She never thought she'd see the day when Shadow showed sympathy. Apparently Omega noticed too, for he was studying the hedgehog intently.

"I remember them," Knuckles softly, sadly, said, shocking the others even more.

"You knew them?" Shade questioned.

"Sort of," he replied. "Sonia was beautiful." Sonic grinned meekly remembering Knuckles' brief infatuation with his sister. Shade raised an 'eyebrow.' The others looked at Knuckles suspiciously.

Sonic's smile suddenly fell though. Quickly he demanded, "Wait, you remembered them! I thought I was the only one! I thought they'd been wiped from existence!"

Knuckles suddenly realized all Sonic had said, "What! I thought _I_ was the only one who remembered! I was afraid to try and remind you in case, well something went wrong."

"To think we could have gone to each other for support…" Sonic ruefully said.

"Seems we should be more open with each other," Knuckles bitterly said. Sonic smirked sadly.

"So that's why you call me little brother, you miss yours," Tails said sympathetically.

The moment of remembrance was shattered, though, when Shadow cruelly said, "Humph, a good thing they're gone too. You don't need more weaknesses than you already have faker. They'd slow you down even more."

Sonic felt fury shoot through him. How dare that creep belittle his siblings! He got into a fighting stance, Knuckles too preparing to attack, but there was no need, for even as Shadow smirked and prepared to battle, accepting the challenge, Amy flew at him stopping only inches from his face. Rouge and Omega turned all attention to her. Amy didn't attack him but yelled, "Well at least he _can_ care! You've never cared about anyone in your life! Even if you did you'd leave them to die without a thought if it was in your best interests! You already have!" She knew the mistake the moment the words left her mouth.

"Amy!" Sonic exclaimed in alarm, afraid of what Shadow's reaction would be.

Amy clamped her hands over her mouth with a gasp. Shadow looked shocked beyond belief at first, then suddenly miserable, hurt. As quickly as he could he masked the pain with his usual icy glare, turned on his heel, then ran out of the room towards the veranda. "Shadow, wait! I didn't mean it! I'm sorry!" she called after him. It was a useless attempt.

Rouge looked horrified at Amy's impudence then worried as Shadow dashed by towards the balcony. Her eyes lit with a protective anger towards Amy for her friend. She turned on her yelling, "You little witch! Look what you've done! Who do you think you are! You _know_ how much he loved Maria! She was like a sister to him if not more! You know she was the one who made him leave and how off subject she is! Now _I_ have to deal with him! I don't have time for this!" She instantly flew towards the balcony in a huff.

"Exit Team Dark," Omega said. He then saw Amy about to follow. Quickly he rattled metallically, "Do not interfere. Rouge will talk to him. Shadow will soon return to normal."

"Normal, hah," Jet said with a rueful smirk.

"Robots make me nervous," Storm said.

"Hah, everything makes you nervous," Vector shot.

"Oh really! Now what gave you _that_ idea!" Storm demanded as he rose threateningly. He nearly tripped as he advanced, but quickly caught balance.

"Bring it on albatross," Vector challenged.

"Enough!" Espio yelled, finally losing his temper.

"Okay, break it up!" Shade ordered annoyed. They fell silent. Shade then turned to Amy saying in an angry irritated tone, "Amy, are you crazy? Shadow could have killed you."

"I didn't mean to. He just got me so angry. How could he say that to Sonic?" Amy defended.

"Easily, he's Shadow," Blaze declared simply.

"It's all right Amy. I didn't expect anything less," Sonic said.

"He still didn't have the right to…" Amy began.

Sonic cut her off sharply, saying, "Just forget it Ames. I have to go."

"Where are you going?" Wave asked. Sonic just smirked then ran.

Knuckles sighed saying, "Come on Tails, we'd better go after him and make sure he doesn't get into any trouble."

"Right behind you Knuckles," Tails said.

"Exit Team Sonic," Omega said.

"Poor Sonic," Big said.

"Who knew you of all people reminded him of his brother," Wave poked at Jet.

"I'd like to meet this Manic guy," Jet said with a smile. "A thief _and_ good hover boarder."

"You'd probably have liked him," Wave said with a chuckle.

"He would have," Knuckles confirmed solemnly.

"Well you can't meet him now, he's dead," Storm said confused. Jet and Wave looked at him blankly, then each other.

"No, you think stupid?" Wave insulted.

"Oh well, who's up for a midnight ride?" Jet asked kicking up his hover board.

"I'm in," Wave said.

"Whatever you say boss," Storm loyally declared.

"Babylon Rogues, let's ride," Jet ordered.

"I'm going fishing with my pal Froggy," Big said.

"Yeah, you do that big guy," Jet said tauntingly.

"Lay off him Jet," Storm said as the three headed out.

"Exit Team Babylon and Big," Omega announced.

"Well Cheese and I need to go to bed," Cream said. "So does Marine."

"Crikey, no way mate. I don't wanna," Marine defied.

"Huh? But you can't just not listen," Cream said, put off by Marine's rebellious tone.

"Course I can," Marine said.

Blaze and Silver looked hopelessly at each other. Blaze then said, "Come on Captain Marine, I'll tell you a pirate story. Silver can act out the parts."

"Really?" Marine asked excitedly.

"I will?" Silver unenthusiastically said. A glare from Blaze sealed it. He blushed, sighed, smiled at the raccoon, then said, "All right, let's go."

"Exit Team Sol," Omega said.

Cream looked at Amy and Shade hopefully. "Oh no, stories are a waste of time," Shade said.

Cream looked crestfallen, Cheese whimpered. Amy chastised, "Shade, she's six. Let's tell her a story. You can tell her about your people and their history."

"Yeah, I love that stuff," Cream said hopefully.

Shade looked from a hopeful Cream to a determined Amy then back. She sighed saying to her friends, "So be it, let's go girls." Cream and Cheese cheered. With that they left.

"Exit Team Rose," Omega said monotonously.

"Marine has a nice accent," Charmy dreamily said. Vector looked at him, smiled affectionately, then patted his head.

"Please, you're too young for love," Espio declared. He then looked around. His eyes opened in surprise and he said, "Hey, everyone's gone but Omega."

"What!" Vector angrily yelled. "Well then we'll just, uh, um, oh…" He had no clue. There was silence. Finally he said, "So who wants to raid the kitchen?"

"Ooh, ooh, me, me!" Charmy excitedly said. He flew quickly by.

"Hey, wait for me!" Vector called hurrying after. Espio dramatically sighed then followed his fellow Chaotix. "You're going to bed right after young bee!" Vector was heard saying.

"No!" Charmy shot.

"Oh yes you are!" Vector ordered.

"Exit Team Chaotix," Omega droned. He then looked around. Realizing there was no one left he rattled, "Rouge may need assistance with Shadow. Duty clear, assist team." With that he went towards the balcony.


	13. Eggman's Return

_**Painful Memories**_

_**Eggman's Return**_

Jet, Wave, and Storm rode through the streets and around buildings whooping excitedly having a blast. Jet made the board jump high and pulled off a trick. "Whoo hoo, beat that!" he called to his friends.

"If you say so," Wave replied following his lead and pulling off a trick.

"That was good, but not good enough," Jet said.

"Oh yeah? Storm, who was better, and don't be biased," Wave called back, put off by Jet's ego.

"Eggman!" Storm exclaimed.

"Eggman? He's not here," Wave said, obviously disgusted at the thought of Eggman being anywhere near them.

"No, there!" Storm cried pointing up. Jet looked up, gasped, then stopped his hover board. The Babylon Rogues watched fearfully as the giant flying object went overhead.

"He's heading right for the meeting place!" Jet exclaimed suddenly realizing it.

"Oh great, what next?" Wave asked.

"Let's get going!" Storm said. The Babylon Rogues instantly turned back.

Silver was starting to get agitated and tired after playing out the roles of yet another of Blaze's pirate stories. Marine, if anything, was getting more excited by the minute instead of settling down. Blaze looked over at Silver in exasperation. He shrugged. "That was great mate, give us another!" Marine exclaimed.

"Marine, we've done three stories already," Silver said.

"It's time to sleep. We'll need our rest to go after Eggman," Blaze said.

"I'm just fine!" Marine insisted. She and Blaze began arguing. Silver went to the open window looking out over the city. Suddenly, though, he saw a huge form emerging. He heard Jet, Wave, and Storm's shouting voices though he couldn't hear the words. It sounded like they were calling warnings.

Silver gasped, turned to his friends, then said desperately, "Blaze, Marine, Eggman's back with an even bigger Egg Carrier like thing! Get up! We have to get the others!" The girls gasped as Silver ran towards them grabbing both their hands and dragging them from the room.

Shade spoke passionately about her people's history and adventures. Cream listened in awe holding Cheese tightly. Amy either listened seeming either bored or intrigued, or joined Shade in narrating. "Wow everything's so interesting and frightening at the same time," Cream said.

"Well, yeah, I guess it is," Shade said with a smile.

"You've seen what it was like in the Twilight Cage Cream," Amy said.

"It's still interesting," Cream said.

"Yes Amy, maybe you'll learn something new," Shade teased. "One adventure wouldn't teach you everything about my dimension after all."

"I guess," Amy said with a smile.

Just then Silver, Blaze, and Marine burst in. "Amy, Shade, Cream, Eggman's coming in a new Flying Fortress! The Babylon Rogues are following him! We need to get the others!" Blaze exclaimed.

"What!" Team Rose exclaimed. Amy instantly rushed to the window, Shade following. Amy thrust open the curtain and gasped at the sight.

"_That_ is big," Shade said in awe. "Space Colony big."

"Oh no," Cream said.

"Chao, chao," Cheese agreed.

The two teams rushed from the rooms.

Team Chaotix was still raiding the kitchen, Vector and Charmy clambering over each other to reach the food in the fridge. Espio was eating at the table watching in boredom. "Espio, Eggman's here!" Silver called. Espio nearly choked. He leapt up from his seat.

Charmy instantly flew out of the fridge. Seeing Marine he said, "Hey Marine."

Vector had hit his head on the top of the fridge. He whirled saying, "What!"

"You heard us, and he has a big toy," Silver said.

"Let's go!" Espio said instantly rushing out.

"Sonic, wait up!" Tails called as he and Knuckles rushed out of the hideout after their friend. Sonic slid to a stop in the front yard looking back at them puzzled.

"What's up kids?" he asked.

"We're just making sure you're okay," Knuckles said seriously.

Sonic smiled sadly. "I'm fine. It was just a moment of weakness," Sonic replied.

"I'm sure," Knuckles said.

"You told us you thought about them often," Tails said sympathetically.

After a moment Sonic said, "Hey Knux, remember your crush on my sister?"

He hesitated then replied with a smile, "How could I forget? Can you blame me, she wasn't bad looking."

"Yeah…" Sonic said.

"I miss them too Sonic," Knuckles assured.

"At least now I have you to talk to about them," Sonic replied with a grateful smile.

Tails and Knuckles looked at each other hesitantly, but then turned back. "Sonic, have you ever thought that they might be, you know, alive?" Tails cautiously asked.

They sensed the change. He suddenly became cold, upset, and slightly angry. He looked back at them annoyed then said, "Don't even go there. They're dead. That's all there is to it. I don't want false hopes raised."

"Sonic!" Silver's voice rang. Team Sonic turned instantly put on guard at the tone.

"Eggman's coming! Team Babylon is following, and Eggman's transportation is bigger than ever!" Espio added as he hurried up.

"What! Again! Can't he leave us alone for a day now?" Sonic asked, agitated. He surveyed all the teams then frowned. They were all accounted for, Babylon on its way, but where… "Hey, where's Team Dark?" Sonic asked realizing that Shadow, Rouge, and Omega weren't there yet.

"Expect them soon. It's only a matter of time before they see it," Silver said.

Shadow was standing on the balcony looking out at the view. He heard the tap of a heel, a step Rouge hadn't quieted in time. He sighed closing his eyes. She had stopped. Now she began forward again. As she came up behind him she said, "Hey Shadow, are you okay?"

He looked out the corner of his eye at her. After a moment he replied, "I'll be fine."

"You know Amy didn't mean it right? She talks before she thinks," Rouge said putting a hand on his shoulder.

He sighed, closing his eyes, gently shrugged off her hand, then replied, "I know…"

"Shadow…" Rouge began, but she had nowhere to go. He had shut down all lines of questioning again. She sighed deeply then joined him in looking out over the view.

Soon they heard Omega say, "Shadow, Rouge, is all well?"

"Fine Omega," Shadow replied. Rouge suddenly perked up on guard. "Rouge?" Shadow asked.

"Maybe not Shadow. I hear the Babylon Rogues calling to us, and they sound worried," she replied. After a moment she gasped exclaiming, "Eggman! He's coming!" Hardly had Shadow and Omega gotten over the sudden statement then the flying object came into view. Shadow's mouth dropped.

"Threat level extremely high," Omega said immediately. "Caution is of utmost importance. We must warn the others."

"Let's go!" Shadow said as he raced off, Rouge and Omega right behind him. They saw the others in the front yard. No sooner had Silver finished his sentence than Shadow, Rouge, and Omega slid onto the scene.

"About time," Sonic poked at Shadow.

"You're slowing down pal," Silver taunted. It was then that Eggman's newest toy appeared over the house.

"Let's go!" Amy said sternly.

Espio ran towards the house then began scaling the wall. Silver quickly followed his friend. Jet was the first of the Rogues to reach the house. Espio saw him starting up towards the craft. Espio leapt up seizing the hover board. Jet was startled at first, but he saw Espio and let it slide. Silver made himself levitate upwards with the two. Blaze quickly followed with Marine, Tails with Team Sonic, Wave and Storm rode up towards the ship together, Cream took up Amy and Shade, Charmy took Vector, and Rouge took Shadow and Omega upwards. Only Big was nowhere around.

Espio turned invisible then dropped from Jet's hover board onto the top of the grand ship. Jet felt the lessened weight then looked worriedly for his ally. Espio turned visible for a moment. "This is going to be fun!" Espio called waving.

"Yeah, a real blast," Jet sarcastically said as he swooped lower towards the top of the ship. Espio snuck under the lasers' watch without being spotted. Jet floated above with Silver until they saw an opening appear. Silver used his powers to knock some robot ships out of the sky. Blaze arrived and shot flames. The others hurried to battle back attack ships and dodge lasers too.

"He's good," Jet said, obviously impressed with Espio's talent.

"He's a ninja, what did you expect?" Silver said with a smile.

"Let's get in there," Sonic said.

"Don't you think it's weird that Eggman hasn't attacked us passed these lasers and robot flyers!" Amy called over to him.

"I don't know, but I'm not going to question it! Trap or not we'll get him together!" Sonic replied. "Now!" he ordered. All together the teams soared down to the entrance avoiding the lasers.

They looked around. "Why are there no traps, no ambushes?" Shade asked.

"Something's not right," Knuckles said.

"Maybe he's toying with us," Cream suggested.

"Of course, Cream, you might be right!" Tails exclaimed. "What if this is only a warning. What if Eggman's just letting us know he's back to stay?"

"We take him out. If he's not ready it's _his_ mistake," Sonic replied.

"Let's knock this baby right out of the sky," Wave said excitedly.

"I'll get to the computer room. Maybe I can knock out the controls if I hack into the mainframe. This thing will have nowhere to go but down," Espio declared.

"You can't go alone. I'll go with you," Wave said.

"Count me in too," Jet said after looking coldly at her.

"I can help you too," Tails said.

"Cream, Marine, Charmy, go with them," Amy said.

"What? Why mate?" Marine asked with a pout.

"Because this is going to get dangerous and we want you to be safe," Amy replied.

"The rest of us are heading to the front of the ship where Eggman will probably be," Blaze said.

"Let's break then. We don't have all day," Rouge prompted.

"Go, go, go!" Vector ordered. With that the group split.

Jet, Wave, Tails, Cream, Charmy, Marine, and Espio stealthily made their way through the ship towards the mainframe; the direction of which was guessed upon by Tails and backed up by Wave. They raced onwards. "This is too easy," Cream uneasily said.

"Maybe Eggman's lost his touch?" Charmy hopefully said.

"Hah, yeah right," Espio said.

"Hey mates, there's the engine room right there," Marine said as she peeked around a corner.

"Great, let's go!" Jet declared instantly running towards it.

"Jet, there might be a trap!" Wave called after him. It was too late. The hawk had reached the door in seconds. Marine quickly followed then attacked the door knocking it in.

"Wow, you're strong Marine," Charmy said dazedly as he flew up to the two.

"Thanks mate," Marine said with a girlish giggle. The others, growing nervous, quickly followed.

They were in and the door was shut. Espio moved to the main computer and began his work. He watched the screen, expression set in a frown. Tails and Wave watched over his shoulder once in a while offering advice. Jet stood near the door peeking out for any threat. Cream stood behind him. After a long moment Espio exclaimed, "Yes, we've got it! Now just one more thing…" He typed something else then suddenly the ship lunged making them all fall with cries of alarm.

"Whoa, bumpy ride down," Jet remarked. Suddenly bullets began raining into the door. "We've got company guys!" Jet exclaimed.

Espio looked back with a gasp then instantly jumped towards the door with a flip. The others gathered behind them. The door was banged. "Ready?" Marine asked.

"Whatever you say Captain Marine," Charmy said.

She giggled then said, "Thanks co-captain Charmy." The door was banged on again.

"Set!" Espio interrupted.

"Go!" Wave cried as the door flew open. Instantly the group attacked the swat bots!

Meanwhile Sonic, Silver, Shadow, Storm, Omega, Vector, Shade, Knuckles, Amy, Blaze, and Rouge, made their way towards the front of the flying base, the helm if you will. Silver, Shadow, and Sonic had gone far ahead of the others. They were far around the corner when the others had only gotten half way through the main hall. Suddenly, from above, dropped a squadron of bots surrounding all but Sonic, Shadow, and Silver! They all gasped. "An ambush!" Storm exclaimed worriedly.

"Great, just what we need, and the hedgehogs are long gone," Vector complained.

"Must destroy all Eggman robots," Omega said. Without a thought he let out a barrage of gunfire mowing them down, or trying. Vector and Storm instantly barreled in like bowling balls.

Shade and Knuckles found themselves cut off from the others and went back to back determinedly. "You ready for this?" Shade asked.

"Can I rely on your protection?" Knuckles teased.

"I owe you, remember?" she replied with a smirk. Together the two echidnas lunged at their attackers working together to take them out.

Amy Blaze and Rouge went back to back. "Get ready ladies," Rouge excitedly said.

"Oh we're ready," Blaze replied. With that she sent out a mass of flames engulfing their enemies. Amy drew her peko peko hammer then began attacking.

Rouge herself leapt up into the sky attacking. Nearing Knuckles and Shade, Rouge called teasingly, "Knuckles you're going to make me jealous!" Knuckles scowled at her. She flew at another attacker. Shade raised a curious eyebrow at him. He blushed.

Rouge's eyes scanned for a way out. She was worried for Shadow, Sonic, and Silver. They lit up soon enough. Turning she called, "Amy, Blaze, look!" They turned to see her pointing. There above them was a large vent.

"All right, let's go!" Amy said as she knocked away another bot. Blaze flew up and tore the grate off quickly entering. Amy followed her instantly. Rouge knocked back more attackers then flew inside replacing the vent.

Meanwhile Shadow, Silver, and Sonic ran through a door then pulled up short with gasps, for they were in an incredibly large area. Below them was a seemingly endless drop, above a high ceiling. They stood on a fairly large metal platform, though in the room it seemed incredibly small. It had no railings, but some escape pods were in the back. "Whoa…" Silver said in awe.

"I've got a bad feeling about this," Shadow said.

"Watch yourselves," Sonic warned. They started again, but suddenly they heard a familiar sound of a hover craft and laughing. They froze with gasps turning towards the edge. From below floated Eggman in his eggmobile surrounded by robots!

"Eggman!" the three hedgehogs said.

"Shadow, Sonic, Silver, what a pleasant surprise," Eggman said. "You thought you could take over my new base? Hah! Welcome to the Flying Egg Fortress."

"Give us back the Sol and Chaos Emeralds!" Silver demanded.

"Oh let me think. Hmm, no!" Eggman retorted. "Bots, attack!" he ordered. They were easy, but the sheer numbers were overwhelming. All at once the robots began to fire. The three hedgehogs dove apart then began racing about and attacking their enemies. Silver used his telekinesis to float up and attack them. Sonic used a standard attack except he linked them so as not to fall to his death.

"Chaos Spear!" Shadow ordered. His attack destroyed a large group of bots. Eggman, distracted momentarily, was then attacked by Silver.

More bots appeared and the trio took care of them quickly, but Eggman charged early knocking Shadow back. Shadow, though, was not deterred. Angry he used Chaos Control appearing right above Eggman. He then used his normal attack. "How dare you!" Eggman yelled at them all. "Bots, attack!" he ordered again. Another squadron appeared.

"Pardon me master, but you're getting too far ahead of yourself!" a voice said suddenly and angrily over his communication device. "We aren't trying to destroy them yet your greatness! Drop the clue and fall back Doctor. Remember all the other times you didn't listen to me and we failed sir!" the voice continued.

"Hmm, fine," Eggman grumbled. He saw Sonic making his way towards him then smirked. "Quite the trio you have here Sonic, but it's not the trio I was once used to seeing! Remember Sonia and Manic Sonic?"

This, of course, distracted the hedgehog. He lost his concentration, gasping at the sudden mention, then missed his mark and began falling! Silver acted quickly, catching him with his telekinesis, then drawing him to safety. Sonic, Silver, and Shadow looked at the Doctor in shock at the sudden mention. "You were behind it! You killed my siblings!" Sonic yelled in sudden fury.

"Of course not! I was as confused as you!" Eggman retorted. "Nonetheless I wonder how they're faring. Maybe I should check on them." He saw Sonic's suddenly sick look, grinned evilly, then continued, "Why Sonic, you really thought they were dead? Well, at least _I_ know where they are. Don't worry; they're not my prisoners yet. You'd better hope your siblings still know how to fight Sonic, because when they face _me_ I won't go easy on them." With that he turned quickly flying off.

"No, Eggman, get back here! You're lying! Where are they! Leave them alone! No, they can't be alive!" Sonic yelled in a dizzying array of emotions.

"Sonic, don't!" Shadow cried as Sonic tried to reach Eggman. He reached the hovercraft only to be met with a gun. Sonic barely managed to dodge the laser, but in the process he lost his footing and fell.

"No!" he cried.

"Sonic!" Silver cried, trying to reach him. However, the robots blocked his abilities as well as blocking Shadow.

Suddenly, though, a voice cried out, "Sonic!" Shadow and Silver looked up only to see Blaze, Amy, and Rouge. Amy had cried his name.

Blaze and Rouge flew at the robots to help Shadow and Silver, though it wasn't much of a threat. Amy, however, dove after Sonic. She grabbed his hand. "Amy!" he cried out fearfully for her. She, however, began to whirl around her hammer letting them float gently down.

"I've got you Sonikku," she said.

In the computer room, having beaten the squadron of bots, the others had seen and heard all this transpire. They gasped. Thinking fast Espio instantly began working at the controls. "Move!" Marine exclaimed forcing her way to the controls. Without thinking or knowing fully what she was doing she pressed a sequence of buttons. She was lucky. At the bottom of the grand room a small opening opened up revealing the world below.

Just then the others who had been fighting the robots entered. "Holy cow!" Vector exclaimed in shock at the room. Suddenly, over the intercom in the ship, Charmy's voice spoke saying, "Guys, the ship's going down! Get out of there now!"

"You don't have to tell us twice Charmy," Storm replied to the air.

"Come on!" Knuckles cried. With that he dove off the edge gliding down. Shade followed, then Omega hovering. Blaze and Rouge swooped down at Vector, Storm and Shadow since Silver used his powers to glide out of the room. Shadow leapt onto Rouge's ankles then she swooped down. Blaze lifted Storm and Vector with some trouble, but she managed.

Back in the computer room Espio said, "Time to go! Come on!"

"You've got it," Wave said. She and Jet jumped on their hover boards. Charmy flew to Espio who grabbed his ankles. Charmy then flew towards Marine, scooping her gallantly into his arms. Espio rolled his eyes. Tails seized Cream's hand and the two began to fly. The group raced towards the entrance Espio had made. They left the falling base swiftly.

Soon the teams reunited on the ground and turned to watch the base go down. Tails noticed he still held Cream's hand then blushed and dropped it. However, suddenly the base seemed to recover. "What!" Espio exclaimed.

"That shouldn't have happened!" Tails said.

"We completely canceled out the controls! The only way this could happen is if…" Wave began. She then gasped. "It…it was a decoy computer! How?"

"Great, now they're getting away!" Knuckles furiously said as the base faded away.

"I don't care. Something's come up," Sonic said miserably.

"What is it?" Tails asked.

"Nothing… just something I need to look into myself," Sonic replied. Without bothering to explain he took off.

"Sonic, wait!" Amy cried.

"Let him go," Shadow said.

"Why, what's going on?" Rouge asked him.

Silver answered saying in shock, "His-his siblings… They're alive." The others gasped in shock.

"He's going to try and find them before Eggman does probably. Good luck with that since Eggman seems to know where they are," Shadow said. "Leave him be." With that Shadow raced off in the opposite direction. The others looked at each other then slowly dispersed, deeply disturbed by the day's events.


	14. Team Vile

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Now I make the duo of villains into a trio. It wasn't Metal Sonic, but he will appear too. This guy is a fan favorite so I've heard, so I decided to bring him back, and hopefully keep him relatively in character and slightly more threatening. Enjoy. I may add a few more chapters too. I'm in a good enough mood and far enough ahead in it.)

_**Team Vile**_

As the newest Egg Carrier, flying fortress, or as Eggman called it, Flying Egg Fortress, flew away from the city, Eggman entered the control room to see one of his robots at the helm. He saw two figures coming towards him. Agitated Eggman said, "I could have finished them Sleet."

"Like we haven't heard that before!" Sleet retorted.

"What was that!" Eggman shouted. Sleet dove behind Dingo.

"Uh, n-nothing your amazingness," Sleet answered nervously.

"All right then. I forgive you. It was a good idea to go easy on them first to lower their expectations. So far your plan's working well," Eggman begrudgingly admitted.

"Yes, it was, and the decoy mainframe was a stroke of genius," Sleet flattered, cautiously coming from behind Dingo.

"Uh, yes, thank you," Eggman said as he looked nervously away.

"Oy, wasn't it your idea boss?" Dingo asked.

"Dingo, of course it was his idea! Who else could come up with it?" Sleet asked trying to cover their backs.

"Well…" Eggman began reluctantly.

Sleet looked at him in disbelief. "Well? What do you mean well? Who else besides me would come up with such a sneaky ploy?"

"That would be me," a new voice spoke.

"Huh?" Sleet and Dingo asked as they looked passed the doctor towards the entrance to the 'cockpit.'

In walked a purple weasel wolf crossbreed. He then said, "The name's Fang the Sniper, but you can call me Nack the Weasel."

"Sniper?" Dingo asked.

Fang chuckled, drew a gun, then fired skimming the top of Dingo's head without so much as sighting the shot. Dingo cried out in alarm. "Next time don't miss," Sleet said coldly to the weasel.

"I didn't," Fang replied.

"Next time shoot to kill," Sleet replied with an amused smirk.

Fang's eyes twinkled evilly, amused with the two. "I think I like you guys," he said.

"Anyway," Eggman interrupted, "Nack here is an old acquaintance of mine from long ago. He's a treasure hunter slash bounty hunter. I called him in to work with you two since you may need help."

"Help!" Sleet exclaimed suddenly horrified. He turned to Eggman then said slightly chagrined, "I already have one idiot working under me. I don't need another."

"Really? Who Sleet, do I know him?" Dingo asked.

Fang raised an eyebrow. Sleet looked coldly at him saying, "I rest my case."

"Oh Sleet; I think you'll find that Nack will be a welcome relief from idiots. He is perfectly competent, sneaky, and talented. He even has an air bike called the 'Marvelous Queen' for flying. He'll be of use to you," Eggman replied.

Sleet looked vaguely interested and slightly impressed. "You won't go wrong with me Sleet my friend. I have a nose for treasure and the ability to shoot my mark. I've even gotten a shot on Sonic once, a long time ago."

Sleet summed him up. Dingo said, "Ooh, I like him. Nack can shoot and fly too Sleet. Maybe we could use him."

"Right, and if you don't, well, do you really want to know?" Eggman said looking at Sleet threateningly.

Sleet rolled his eyes replying, "Nack huh? Well, you did come up with the decoy. It was a stroke of brilliance. Fine, welcome to the team, weasel. I think I may grow to like you if you keep coming up with ideas like that."

"Excellent. From now on you will be known as Team Vile. You are my most trusted helpers and in charge of all my robots from general to E-series, to of course Metal Sonic," Eggman declared.

"Oh excellent sir, I can hardly wait," Sleet replied schemingly as he rubbed his hands over each other.

"This promises to be fun," Nack remarked as he pointed the gun upwards and spun the barrel, excitement in his eyes.

Sleet looked vaguely surprised then grinned evilly saying, "Hmm, maybe having you tag along won't be so bad after all."

"All right mate. We'll show you the ropes," Dingo said placing a hand on Fang's shoulder.

"I've been filled in on Sonic's siblings," Fang replied, obviously still surprised at the bit of information.

"Not those ropes; how _we_ do business," Sleet said. The three left without a goodbye to Eggman, talking of their run-ins with the blue blur Sonic.

Eggman said sarcastically, "They're finally making friends. I'm so proud of them." He then turned back to face out the front window. "We're coming for you Underground, and with you out of the picture, I will no longer have anything to fear. The world will fall under my control once and for all." He laughed evilly as the ship continued on.


	15. Team Underground

_**Painful Memories**_

_**Team Underground**_

"He's alive…" Sonia said in shock after their brush with Sleet, Dingo, the new bots, and their mother.

"I knew it!" Manic exclaimed excitedly. He seized his sister's arms happily and shook her saying, "Sonia, Sonic's somewhere out there! We have to find him!"

Sonia stumbled uneasily a moment then shook off the shaking. She determinedly replied, "We will. Mother will be looking for him too so we're not completely alone."

"Great, what's our first step?" Manic asked.

"To get out of Mobodoon," Sonia replied.

"O-kay, second step?" Manic asked.

She looked condescendingly at her brother, but the look fell to one of realization. "I-I don't know," she replied.

"We have to do _something_. Maybe the humans know about where he might be, or maybe…" he gasped cutting off.

"What?" Sonia asked.

He seized her practically yelling, "Sis, who do we know that Sonic knows too!"

"You're kidding, right?" she asked. That could be a great number of people.

"He's red, lives on a floating island thingy," Manic hinted.

Sonia gasped. "Knuckles! Of course! Why didn't we think of that before! He wasn't caught by the incident! Well not as near! But, we don't know where Angel Island is anymore, remember. Not since the incident. It messed everything up. Oh for all we know he could have forgotten all about me."

"Somehow I doubt that," Manic reassured remembering her old crush. She smiled gratefully. "Anyway it's a floating island, it can't be too hard to find. All we need is a plane," Manic said.

"It would be nearby the people since the worlds converged, maybe not too far from where Sonic is either, if luck is with us!" Sonia realized. "Oh but it could take forever," Sonia added beginning to quickly lose hope.

"To find Sonic I'd spend all eternity searching every universe and every dimension," Manic declared seriously.

This statement made Sonia perk up determinedly. "So would I. Let's get going. Back with the freedom fighters there's a plane available for our use that can make it to Earth. Come on." The two began running through Mobodoon towards their goal. Soon enough they reached it and entered. In seconds the plane roared out, Sonia at the controls, off to search for Angel Island.

They were flying above the ocean now, searching for any sign of the floating island or any indication of Sonic. "Sonic would hate this," Sonia wryly said as she gazed down at the water.

"Oh yeah; man I hope we find him all right," Manic replied.

"Sleet said he was alive and well," Sonia said.

"Well he hinted that he was okay," Manic answered, a little less enthusiastically as he flew the plane higher.

"Optimism brother, optimism," Sonia said.

Manic gasped in awe. "There it is sis!"

"What!" she demanded lunging ahead. She saw the island coming into view. Remembering their adventures with Sonic and Knuckles there, tears came to their eyes. "We're almost there Manic. If anyone can tell us where Sonic is, it's Knuckles," she said, gripping her brother's shoulder.

"We're so close…" Manic said in rising excitement. They felt like bursting. Finally the plane touched down on the island.

"We're here, oh look at it!" Sonia cried through her hopeful tears.

"I feel like hugging a tree! Heck, I will!" Manic replied seizing a tree.

"Hurry, we have to get to the Master Emerald!" Sonia said.

"You got it Sonia," Manic replied. He took the lead speeding off, Sonia following behind. "Uh oh," Manic said, sliding to a halt. "Rocks are in the way. You're up sis," he continued.

"No problem," she answered. She easily moved them. Manic smiled at her approvingly then raced onwards again. After a few more minutes Sonia cried, "There it is!" The two slid to a halt in front of the Emerald's sanctuary.

"There _it_ is, but what about Knux? He should be guarding it. He never leaves," Manic said nervously.

The two looked uncertainly at each other, but Sonia soon replied, "Let's not think on it brother. Be prepared for a trap though. Come on Manic."

Cautiously the two hedgehogs made their way up the steps listening for Knuckles, for any sign of life. They stopped right in front of the Master Emerald's perch. "It's just as beautiful as ever," Manic said in awe.

"We'd better wait for Knuckles to come back," Sonia said.

"Man I can't wait to see _him_ again," Manic replied. "Any familiar face nowadays is a relief."

"I even felt happy to see Sleet and Dingo," Sonia agreed as the two sat on the steps.

Suddenly, though, they heard a tinkling sound. They gasped then whirled, only to see the Master Emerald glowing! They leapt up, on their guard for a trap, but all at once, right in front of them, a figure began to emerge, first black, then slowly coming into focus. Manic felt his mouth drop. Sonia got into a fighting stance. It was then the person appeared. "You're not Knuckles! Who are you!" Sonia demanded of the form.

"She's an echidna…" Manic said in shock.

The young echidna was looking at them coldly, suspiciously, yet her eyes betrayed her nervousness. Finally she replied, "I am Tikal. I come from the echidna tribe of Pachacamac who was my father. Thousands of years ago we guarded the Master Emerald and Chaos Emeralds, but my father wished to use their power for war. I wanted only peace. They were never meant to be used for bad. I begged him to listen but he wouldn't. I soon was forced to seal myself inside the Emerald along with the god Chaos in order to save what I could. Who are you, and why are you here? Have you come with evil in mind or good?"

"Whoa…" Manic said. He couldn't take his eyes off of her for the shock of it all. She tilted her head curiously at him, her false bravery and coldness quickly fading to fear and a shy blush.

Sonia, though, kept her head saying angrily, "We're old friends of Knuckles! We came to find him hoping he'd know where we could find our brother Sonic! Where is he?"

"Sonic? He's your _brother_!" Tikal exclaimed in shock, eyes wide, all other emotions replaced.

Sonia's fighting stance fell to surprise. "You know Sonic?" she asked.

"He saved the Emeralds and protected the world from Chaos once. I've seen him quite a bit since," she replied, stunned. "Knuckles, too, is descended from my line. That is how I know him. He helped Sonic often." She saw the confusion in the eyes of the two. She then went on, a relaxed and excited smile coming to her face, "It seems there will be a lot of catching up to do. Knuckles only recently left with Sonic to find the stolen Chaos Emeralds. I can help you find them if you like. Once you are reunited all will be revealed."

"You're in!" Manic quickly said.

"Manic, we don't know we can trust her," Sonia said.

Manic looked back at Tikal's hurt expression then replied, "Sonia, I don't think we've ever met anyone we could trust _more_ than her. Tikal, we'd love to have your help."

"Get your emotions in check lover boy, and put your eyes back in your head," Sonia hissed to him.

"Why are you so sour about this sis?" Manic asked.

Sonia looked at Tikal then whispered back, "I just don't like her. I mean I _do _like her, she's seems really nice, but I don't know. I don't trust anyone these days. I don't need a reason."

"The feeling is mutual," Tikal said with an understanding smile, surprising them both. "It's not easy trusting strangers. I promise you, though, I'm not against you." Sonia blushed, embarrassed, and chuckled nervously. "Come, let us hurry," Tikal said. "Take my ankles. I'll fly you back to your plane."

"How did you know…?" Sonia began.

"I saw you coming in," Tikal replied. She then leapt into the air. Manic was impressed. He grabbed her ankles then Sonia grabbed his.

"All right, Team Underground is off," Manic said, naming the trio. Together the group flew towards the plane.


	16. Old Friends Reunite

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Well I was going to leave this chapter for tomorrow, but I figured that would be too cruel, even too slow. Some readers are getting impatient. They want to see some reunions going on. So here you go. If I get some reviews that want me to put up another chapter today I will. If I do that will probably lead to yet another being put up, but not for sure. Enjoy.)

_**Old Friends Reunite New Friends Made**_

Manic landed the plane in an open area Tikal pointed out as the place the emeralds were stolen from. The trio climbed out. "This is Tails' workshop," Tikal announced.

"Whose?" Sonia asked.

"You'll meet him soon enough. He is one of Sonic's two best friends, Knuckles being the other," she answered.

"Really? Wow, Sonic and Knuckles grew pretty close since last we saw him," Manic said. Tikal smiled at him.

Suddenly they saw some strange looking robots ahead. "What are those?" Sonia asked.

"They are Eggman's weakest robots. They're no problem," Tikal answered. With that she ran at one quickly dispelling of it.

"All right, looks like fun," Manic said quickly joining her. Sonia shrugged then battled too, both following Tikal.

"Where are we going?" Manic asked their new found friend.

"They have a meeting place in the city, a large house. If they're anywhere it'll be there," Tikal replied.

Knuckles was standing outside looking towards Angel Island uncertainly. He'd been gone a while. Maybe he should head back. Suddenly, though, he heard Tikal's voice in his head saying, "Knuckles, wherever you are stay put. I'm nearing the hideout. Don't worry about the Master Emerald."

"Tikal?" he asked aloud. He instantly went on the lookout for her. Why was she coming to him?

"There it is, see," Tikal stated, pointing ahead of the running Manic.

Manic spotted the house. "Whoa, that's like a mansion!" he exclaimed.

"Hopefully they have all the luxuries of one too," Sonia complained. Manic chuckled at his girlish sister.

He looked ahead, gasped, then slid to a halt. Tikal kept on going. Sonia ran into him. "Whoa, hey, watch it," she said.

"It's him," Manic replied in shock. She looked ahead then gasped, hands covering her mouth. There, just down the hill, was Knuckles!

"His quills are longer than before… He looks so handsome," Sonia said, stunned, unable to think of anything to say. "It's been so long…" she finally added.

Manic took his sister's hand, looked calmly at her, then asked, "Are we really ready to face our past again?"

"For Sonic," Sonia said.

"For Sonic," Manic sadly smiled.

"Are you prepared?" Tikal asked.

"Prepared for tears," Sonia said, already beginning to tear up.

Tikal nodded. "Follow when I beckon," she said. She walked towards Knuckles as Manic and Sonia watched after her, trying to calm their nerves. Would Knuckles remember them?

Knuckles saw her coming. "Tikal, where's the Master Emerald?" he demanded.

She reassuringly replied, "Don't worry Knuckles. The Master Emerald is safe."

"Good, now what's this about?" Knuckles asked.

"Err, Knuckles, there are some people who need to see you," she said, feeling excitement well up. She loved happy reunions. She hoped this would be one.

"Someone's here to see me?" Knuckles asked.

"Yes, I think you might remember them," she said, smile spreading. He felt his heart beating faster at the thought but didn't know why. Could it be? No, they didn't know he was alive. Tikal didn't even know about them yet. No one but he and Sonic had even known about them until he spoke of them. Tikal then beckoned.

Knuckles looked up the hill, eyes widening in curiosity. Sure as night followed day he saw two figures nearing him. His mouth slowly dropped. He shook his head in disbelief. "No…" Tikal heard him whisper.

The two figures came into view. He couldn't believe his eyes. They stared at him eyes wide and hopeful, full of longing. After a long pause Manic said hoarsely, "Kn-Knuckles…"

He could say no more, so she took over. "Is it really you? After all this time…?" Sonia asked.

He was frozen. Finally he tried to say something gruffly, but the words came out hoarsely and hidden emotions were revealed in his tone. "S-Sonia, Manic, is-is it true… It- it can't be. You're dead, you disappeared."

That was it. He remembered. Sonia burst into tears. Manic felt tears leaving his own eyes. Sonia threw herself into her old friend's arms saying, "You're real! You're here!" He held her back in absolute shock. He suddenly sobbed and tightened his grip.

Completely casting all dignity aside Manic too ran to his friend holding him. Knuckles forgot himself in the moment and the three old friends were clinging to each other happily. "Man we've missed you Knucklehead," Manic said.

"You sound just like Sonic…" Knuckles replied in shock, tears threatening his eyes. Tears he promptly tried to force back. "You're alive! By the Master Emerald you're really alive!" he exclaimed, voice filled with emotion. They were actually here! Eggman wasn't lying! Sonic… Knuckles gasped pushing them back. "Sonic, we need to tell him! He raced off looking for you two! No telling _where_ he is _now_!"

"Silver can communicate with him," Tikal said, mentioning the white hedgehog Knuckles had told her about once.

"Of course!" Knuckles exclaimed. "You guys can meet everyone! We can fill you in on everything that's happened to us since… Since the incident, since Sonic lost you two."

"But we have to look for him!" Sonia protested.

"We'll have time later. If Silver gets through to him he'll come to _us_! Come on!" Knuckles insisted.

Manic nervously replied, "Uh, I guess."

"Don't worry about the crowd. They're all on our side, at least for now. Eggman's back to his old tricks, and we've all been sucked into it. We'll explain everything," Knuckles said. With that he led Team Underground into the house.

No sooner had they entered then they were greeted by Shade and Tails who were heading out. "Knuckles, there you are. We were just about to look for you," Shade said, relieved. It was then that she and Tails saw the other three, and noticed the hedgehogs particularly.

"Are they…!" Tails began loudly, only to trail off in awe.

"You bet they are Tails, Sonic's siblings!" Knuckles eagerly said.

"Unbelievable. Sonic took off to look for _them_, and _they_ found _him_!" Shade said in shock.

"They're real," Tails gasped. He instantly became hyper. "You're real! You're really here! I'm Miles Tails Prower, but you can call me Tails," Tails excitedly said.

"You're one of Sonic's best friends along with Knuckles," Manic said growing excited.

"That's right," Tails verified practically jumping up and down.

"The emeralds were stolen from your workshop, weren't they?" Sonia asked.

"Sadly," Tails replied, calming down soberly.

"So you're the siblings of our favorite hedgehog. I'm Shade the Echidna of the Nocturne tribe," Shade said in disbelief, a smile appearing.

"I'm Manic, and this is my sister Sonia," Manic replied taking both their hands in turn.

"H-how do you do," Sonia said.

"Great now that _you're_ here! I can't believe it! Come on, we need to show you the others!" Tails exclaimed, eagerly leading the way. Knuckles beamed at his old friends. Feeling adrenaline rising, the hedgehogs and Tikal quickly followed.

Tails burst into the room crying, "Guys, guess what! It's Sonic's siblings! They're here! They're real! I don't know how but they found us! They actually found us! Look at them! They even look like Sonic!" Everyone looked up in absolute shock.

"What!" Vector exclaimed in disbelief.

"You heard me! Look, here they are!" Tails continued. The two hedgehogs entered, the three echidnas following. The group stared at the two in disbelief, shock, exhilaration. "Guys, this is Sonia and Manic, Sonic's siblings," Tails introduced quickly in reverence. The resemblance was uncanny, except for the eye color, quill color, and hair styles.

"Whoa, there's like eighteen of you in all, nineteen counting Sonic!" Manic exclaimed, suddenly feeling awkward.

"Don't worry. Let me introduce them all," Tails said. He flew over to Amy and Cream saying, "This is Team Rose, well, with Shade the Echidna that is. Their names are Amy Rose and Cream the Rabbit. The little creature with her is a Chao named Cheese. Amy's madly in love with your brother."

"Really?" Manic said, highly amused at this tidbit of information.

"Tails, why'd you tell them that!" Amy demanded. She looked to Sonia in awe saying, "Wow, Sonic wasn't joking when he said we looked alike."

"I'll say," Sonia replied in pleased surprise.

"I'm pleased to finally meet you," Cream said in wonder.

"Chao, chao," Cheese cried.

Tails flew over to Jet, Wave, and Storm saying, "This is Team Babylon, or the Babylon Rogues, Jet the Hawk, Wave the Swallow, and Storm the Albatross. They're thieves and really good hover boarders."

"Thieves! You're talking my language," Manic excitedly said.

"I was right, I do like you," Jet replied, instantly perking up and warming to his old rival's brother. "Sonic said I reminded him of you. I see why."

"Both green, both thieves, and both, apparently, good hover boarders, but I bet I could beat ya," Manic said.

"Oh yeah, bring it on anytime," Jet replied sitting up at the challenge.

"Same personality too," Wave wryly remarked. Both frowned at her.

"This is incredible…" Rouge said in shock.

Tails flew to Rouge, Omega, and Shadow next. On seeing Shadow, though, Sonia and Manic both gasped, "Sonic!" Shadow turned to them coldly. The gaze froze them. They gasped, falling silent. This definitely was _not_ Sonic.

"Uh, well, this is Team Dark, Rouge the Bat, E-123 Omega, a maverick robot of Eggman's. He turned on his master, and the hedgehog is, well Shadow the Hedgehog, ultimate life form," Tails introduced.

"Sensors indicate they are one-hundred percent Sonic's siblings," Omega said.

"You doubted?" Shadow asked his friend as he turned back to look out the window.

Tails went to Silver, Blaze, and Marine saying, "This is Team Sol, Silver the Hedgehog, Blaze the Cat, and Marine the Raccoon."

"Who's the big guy with the fishing pole?" Manic asked.

"That? It's Big the Cat. The frog is his friend Froggy," Tails replied. Froggy croaked.

Tails finally flew to the Chaotix saying, "And these guys are Team Chaotix, or just the Chaotix. They're detectives. Vector Crocodile is their leader, this one is Charmy Bee, and finally there's Espio the Chameleon. He's a ninja and by far the most serious, plus he turns invisible, rather camouflages into his surroundings," Tails narrated.

"Hey!" Vector and Charmy shot angrily at Tails. Espio chuckled.

"Ooh, a ninja huh? That's so cool!" Sonia exclaimed looking at the chameleon, eyes sparkling in excitement.

Espio was taken off guard by this. He looked shocked and flattered at the same time. "What, who, me, oh, uh, thanks?" he replied, flustered at the sudden interest in his abilities, especially from a girl.

"Espio's got a girlfriend," Charmy taunted. Espio blushed at the implication. Charmy was rewarded with a growl from the Chameleon then being swatted away by his hand. Sonia smirked at the bee, thinking him adorable.

"Great, now let's get down to filling you two in," Tails said. He noted Shadow's cold look but did his best to ignore. With that the group began telling the tales of all the adventures they'd had with Sonic, of all that had happened since Sonic was separated from his siblings. Sonia and Manic listened in awe, pity, fury, misery, every emotion that existed they felt at least once. It was overwhelming, but they both sensed that this was something they needed to hear, to know, in order to help defeat Eggman. They no longer doubted that it very well may have been years since the incident. In turn the triplets, minus Sonic, intrigued their new found friends with tales of the adventures they'd had once with Sonic, elaborating on the tales Sonic had told. One thing was for sure, everyone in that room was now definitely closer than they ever had been before. Even Shadow had become deeply interested in the events.

Finally things came to a reasonable calm for them all to wind down. After all, it was late; rather, early, the time well past midnight. "Let's get back to business. Sonic needs to know they're here. Silver, can you get through to him," Knuckles demanded.

"I don't know, I can try," Silver replied.

"Do it," Shadow simply ordered.

"Hurry, he could be in another dimension by now. He went without us. He may be walking right into Eggman's hands," Amy said fearfully.

"Things will be fine," Tikal assured. Despite her positive words she herself wasn't convinced let alone the others. Silver promptly began to try and reach Sonic.


	17. A Brother's Reunion

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: There will be another chapter coming. Maybe two. Depends. The story has many chapters, though, and if I go one chapter at a time it'll take a long time and drive my readers crazy. Enjoy)

_**A Brother's Reunion**_

_Alive_, Eggman had said they were _alive_. Sonic pulled out the medallion and gazed miserably at it. He closed his hand over it shutting his eyes. No, it couldn't be. He was lying to throw Sonic, but why not use that method before? Why mention them now? Of course he'd always assumed Eggman forgot they existed. No, bad Sonic. They're dead, that's all there is to it. They _had _to be. He would have found them, wouldn't he? Sonia, Manic… If they really were alive, what about mom, or Sleet, or Dingo? It _couldn't_ be it just _couldn't_. Not after all this time.

Suddenly a voice came into his head. "Sonic," it said. Sonic recognized the voice. Silver was trying to get through to him. Fat chance. Sonic tried to tune out his friend's pleas for him to return, or so that's what he thought they would be. However, the voice continued, "I know you can hear me Sonic. I think you should come back now. Something's happened."

Sonic slid to a halt on catching the solemn tone in the white hedgehog's voice. He looked ahead. Where was he going anyway? To find them, his mind told him, but how? They were dead. Even if they weren't, he had no way to know where they were or to get to where he thought they might be. Silver sounded serious. Maybe it was time to turn back. Something bad might have happened. Yeah, go back Sonic, just go back. Forget about Eggman, forget about them. It was a lie, nothing more.

He began to turn to head back, but all at once he heard a gun go off and felt a bullet skim over his head! He cried out in alarm and slid to a halt. He looked up the hill to face the direction the bullet had come from. To his shock, there on a strangely familiar red scorpion like vehicle, stood an enemy he hadn't seen in a long time. "Fang!" Sonic exclaimed in shock.

"So you remember me Sonic! Good, it'll make this more fun. My warning shot came quick, didn't it. A centimeter lower and you'd be dead!" Fang called boastfully to him.

"Oh boy, you're just what I need now my sniper weasel friend," Sonic replied with a smirk, "a distraction from the day's events. This'll be _too _easy!"

"Remembering your past Sonic!" Nack called suddenly, as Sonic was about to run at him. Sonic's smile dropped instantly to a frown.

"What? How did you…" Sonic began.

"How would you feel, Sonic, if you suddenly were reunited with certain, shall we say acquaintances, of yours from long ago? Certain hired hands of Eggman's. Not robots, but flesh and blood, just like you and me," Fang continued.

Sonic's eyes narrowed dangerously. "Oh, who?" he challenged, teeth bared.

"Don't worry Sonic mate; it ain't anyone close to you," another voice spoke as a figure joined Nack on the roof.

Sonic's eyes widened, his mouth dropped in shocked disbelief. "No…" he squeakily muttered as he stepped back in disbelief.

"Yes Sonic. Do you remember _us_ as well?" a third voice said as one more figure pushed by Dingo and Nack and stood as leader.

"S-Sleet, Dingo, it… it's you," he hoarsely said. Now he recognized the vehicle. It was the same one they'd once used, only improved.

"So you _do_ remember," Sleet said. Turning to his comrades he remarked, "I must compliment the Doctor on his knack for connecting. Finally I have a partner who doesn't drive me insane, has half a brain, and can tolerate Dingo's stupidity. The Doctor did a good job with Team Vile."

"So _far_ we've worked well together. I'm enjoying the company of people who can keep up to me," Fang bantered back, the group taunting Sonic and luring him in by pretending to not pay much attention.

"We like you Nack, you've got style," Dingo said. They glanced out the corner of their eyes to try to see if Sonic was running at them. He was moving _slowly_ towards them, but that wasn't good enough.

"How? I thought you two were dead," Sonic said, interrupting the conversation.

Sleet, Dingo, and Fang all turned to him. Sleet then replied, "The feeling was mutual. Well," he chuckled, "at least with your siblings and mother. _I_ never truly believed you were gone. You were too much of a thorn in my side for me to believe you were truly dead."

"They're really alive? Mom, Sonia, Manic?" Sonic asked in disbelief. "No… I don't believe you, you're lying!"

"Sonic, you're making things difficult," Nack said.

"Hurry up and find them so we can catch you all when you reunite if we don't catch you now," Dingo impatiently said. Sleet slapped his own forehead.

"It doesn't matter if he spills or not. We'll win either way," Nack said to an annoyed Sleet. "How can we lose?"

"Oh wonderful, Dingo's an idiot and you're overconfident," Sleet replied.

"Where do we _begin _with _you_?" Dingo grumbled.

"What was that Dingo?" Sleet asked.

"Uh, nothing Sleet," he quickly said. Sonic took the moment of genuine temporary distraction and ran at them. Fang, though, had spotted the attempt. He fired his pistol. Sonic barely moved to the side in time, and now Sleet and Dingo were alert to the threat.

Sleet shot Dingo with a morphing device, turning him into a large net. Nack flew above Sonic with his bike, shooting down at the hedgehog, doing his best to keep Sonic relatively steady. It was then that Sleet cast Dingo, the net, at Sonic, instantly jumping off after it and running at his old enemy. Sonic never saw the net coming until almost too late. He gasped then dove out of the way barely avoiding the hail of bullets from a quicker and far more talented Fang than what he remembered. Why was he having such trouble? Shock, maybe? Dingo was morphing! Sonic focused on what he would become. The problem? He didn't watch for the wolf.

Sleet leapt over the still morphing Dingo knocking Sonic to the ground with a tackle. Sonic and Sleet rolled once or twice before Sleet pinned Sonic. Sonic was in shock. He was pinned by _Sleetmo_! What happened? Had he gotten tougher? Was he always like this only going easy on him and his siblings before? Sonic fought viciously back, but Sleet matched him. Something told Sonic it was definitely the latter. Fang landed next to them to help Sleet. "Cage Dingo is ready," Fang said with a victorious smirk.

"Sleet, Nack, look out!" Dingo suddenly cried spoiling the victorious moment.

"Huh?" the other two gasped as Nack turned and Sleet looked up. Fang suddenly felt electricity flowing through him. He cried out in pain then collapsed, gasping. Sleet's mouth was open in shock. Sonic took the opportunity to violently kick up sending the man off of him. Sonic leapt up then ran not looking back until he knew he was out of sight. Only then did he dare to look behind. Only one person had ever defended him like that without showing themselves. It couldn't be...

Sleet recovered quickly, but Sonic was far out of reach. "Curse that hedgehog!" Sleet angrily exclaimed. "How did that electricity…" he trailed off his mouth falling open. His eyes narrowed and he looked back. Farther up the mountain he saw a figure looking at him, moonlight at its back. It then disappeared with a toss of a cape. "Aleena," Sleet maliciously hissed. "She's found us and her brat."

"Sleet, Nack's down!" Dingo called snapping Sleet back to the present. Sleet looked over at his fallen comrade who had just slipped into unconsciousness. He shook his head then zapped Dingo back to normal.

"Get him inside. He'll wake up soon enough," Sleet ordered. With that he stalked bitterly by. The moment Fang awoke Sleet would inform them of the Queen's convenient arrival. How had she found Sonic? What was she feeling now?

Alive, he's alive! My baby boy is alive! I didn't dare believe it when Sleet first said it. I couldn't believe it, but there he had been. My necklace had glowed blue. I couldn't think straight. I just followed its intensity. There he was, running right towards me. He came to a stop for some reason, then turned to go back. Then there were the bounty hunters and a new ally of theirs whom I heard them call both Nack and Fang. They were besting Sonic. Sleet had him pinned. Fang was helping, Dingo as a readied cage. I couldn't be in denial any longer. I acted. I rescued a child I thought was long dead. I wanted to embrace him, to hold him, to just cry. I collapsed to my knees weeping. I found him with the help of the oracle. I had begged and pleaded for him to show me some sign of where he would be. He obliged. I don't know why he did so now when he never did before. Even then I couldn't believe, but I followed the lead, and there it took me. It is time to watch the children unite, though it is still too soon for me to join them, especially now.

Sonic raced back to the house at top speed, tears in his eyes, still in denial. He hoped Eggman hadn't made a move on his friends. He hoped he wouldn't for a while now. He wasn't ready to deal with it. He reached the meeting place in record time, got a hold of his emotions, then burst through the doors saying, "Okay, I'm back, wait until I tell you guys what happened, but what's going on?"

On looking up, though, his mouth dropped. If he could pale he would have. He would be as white as Silver was. Ghosts, they must be! He was staring at ghosts, had to be! What other explanation was there? Their expressions mirrored his own. He felt tears swimming in his eyes, saw tears in their own. "Impossible…" he finally hoarsely whispered. He looked around at his friends in the background saying, "This is some sort of illusion. Guys, I'm seeing things, tell me I'm-I'm seeing things."

"No," Knuckles simply replied.

"Sonic?" Sonia meekly squeaked. Sonic looked back at her in disbelief.

"Sonic… bro, you're-you're al-alive…" Manic said, voice cracking, tears beginning to fall.

"Sonia, Manic…" he said in hardly a whisper. "No… You're…you're…" He drew out his medallion. It was glowing brighter than ever before. He closed his hand around it again in disbelief. All at once he burst into tears. "No! You're both dead! You can't be here! It's impossible! It has to be a trick! What sort of joke is this!"

"Sonic!" Sonia screamed as she charged across the room launching herself into her brother's arms. She began to weep uncontrollably. Sonic held her in a death grip looking ahead as if in shock. "Please tell me you're real! Tell me this isn't a dream! Manic!" she sobbed.

Manic lost all control at that point. "Sonic!" he exclaimed in unbridled happiness. He raced to his brother throwing his arms around him then bursting into joyful tears. Sonic desperately held them both back. He couldn't believe it, but there they were, holding him, talking to him, he could feel them, see them, hear them, smell them. This wasn't a dream it _couldn't_ be, it just _couldn't_! If it was he didn't know how he'd take it when he woke up. He wouldn't be able to bear it. If they weren't really here… if he lost them again… Oh gods what would he do? He gave way to weeping with them, clinging desperately to them.

"You're alive! Gods you're alive!" he cried loudly.

"We thought you were dead!" Manic exclaimed through his own tears.

From the background the others watched, some crying silently, some smiling bittersweet or amused smiles, some looking on expressionlessly. It was only a matter of time before the triplets had explained what had happened right after the incident.

After a while blissfully uniting, the three had calmed down enough to think straight, but they never left each others sides. They had sat close together on the couch as Sonia and Manic narrated what had happened between them, Sleet, Dingo, and Aleena, when the bounty hunters suddenly returned. Sonic narrated his own encounter with their old enemies. Sonia and Manic had been told about Fang leaving Sonic vaguely surprised that they'd been filled in so fully on everything, but then what else did he expect? Tails couldn't keep quiet, and most of the others would join in for the fun of it. Only the really serious ones would have said nothing or not much. At the moment, though, they didn't want to think about anything else. They were simply basking in the sheer bliss that came from their reunion, relishing every moment. Refusing to even consider that this could be a dream. It was real, they knew it. They were together again.


	18. Getting To Know You

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: This chapter delves into the relationship angle of certain teams and pairs just slightly. It's like the calm before the storm in a way. Soon things get difficult for the teams. Yes I took the title from the Sonic Underground episode of the same name. Couldn't resist.)

_**Getting To Know You**_

Nack stirred, his eyes fluttering open. "Sleet, he's waking up!" Dingo called. Nack shook his head groggily. He tried to sit up. Dingo took his arm and helped him rise.

"About time," Sleet said.

"Wow, what hit me?" Fang asked.

"Sonic's mother," Sleet replied bitterly as he came up to the 'bed' after parking their transportation.

"Ugh," the weasel moaned. Suddenly he was fully aware of his comrades. His eyes widened in surprise. "You, you didn't _leave_ me?" he asked in shock.

"Course not mate, why would we? What could we possibly gain from leaving you?" Dingo replied in confusion. "Besides, we're supposed to be working with you."

Nack sat in surprised silence. Finally he said reluctantly, "Then I guess I owe you two a confession. Maybe it'll spare me some trouble compared to if you find out another way."

"Confession, why?" Dingo asked.

"Look, I'm used to working alone, and in all honesty villains don't usually stick around to help each other. The fewer the better. You two were partners, I was someone you had to work with. I figured you'd kill me in my sleep or ditch me somewhere, so I planned to betray you first."

"I figured as much," Sleet said, unsurprised.

"You're not surprised, angry, nothing?" Nack asked in shock.

"Oh please, betrayal is my middle name," Sleet replied.

"I'll say. You should hear all the times he planned to betray Eggman," Dingo proudly said.

"Oh yes, both kill and take over his empire betray, and the occasional just get his money plot," Sleet said quickly as if brushing it off.

"I don't know if you're smart or just stupid," Fang said in admiration. "What are we going to tell Eggman? We failed to catch Sonic," Fang asked.

"I was never one for the catch Sonic alone ploy," Sleet replied. "I want the whole royal family in my grasp."

"His friends though…" Fang began.

"The triplets will try to reunite with their mother. It will be a family moment, perfect to make a move, because Sonic will have sent the others away," Sleet said.

"But you don't know that for sure Sleet," Dingo remarked.

"Trust me." Sleet said evilly. "The royal family is mine."

"I'm overconfident, you're stupid, and Sleet is vengeful," Nack muttered to Dingo.

Morning came to the hideout, but few of the large group were actually awake. Sonic, Sonia, and Manic were, of course, too lost on cloud nine to stay asleep. They didn't want to miss another moment together. "Oh man we thought you were long dead bro," Manic said after another conversation filled with laughing. It had been hours, almost noon now, that they'd spent in each others company.

"Hey, I'm Sonic the Hedgehog. You don't need to worry about _me_," Sonic boasted.

"What, you thought we couldn't take care of ourselves?" Sonia asked in a slightly annoyed and angry tone.

"No, it wasn't that. It's just… I looked everywhere for you two. I couldn't find as much as a trace of you. Eggman never spoke about you again after the incident, neither did Knuckles. I thought you'd been literally wiped from existence, that I was the only one who knew you ever existed," he replied. There was silence as they recalled that fateful day, sadness in their eyes.

Suddenly, though, Cream's voice broke through their thoughts saying, "Well it doesn't matter now because you're all together again."

"Yeah, you're right. We need to focus on Eggman," Sonic said, realizing that a few of their friends had gathered around as they began to wake up.

"We can't do anything until he makes another move. We don't even know where he is," Blaze said.

"Chances are we won't be able to get onto the Flying Egg Fortress so easily again either," Silver added.

"Come on mate. They don't wanna think about that right now. Crikey they've just been reunited," Marine suddenly interrupted.

"I agree with Marine. They should allow themselves to get over the shock of the events that have happened. They've found each other alive after thinking each other dead, their mother is living and watching over them again so they need to find her too, and their enemies Sleet and Dingo have returned with help from Fang and Eggman to unleash an unknown threat," Tikal said.

"Well we were fine until you summed it all up," Manic said looking suddenly overwhelmed. Sonia and Sonic looked just as exhausted.

"Oops," Tikal said apologetically.

"Hey, how about we take Sonia for a tour of the city to wind down?" Amy asked.

"I'm not sure," Sonia replied looking hesitantly at her brothers.

"We'll hit all the prime locations, like malls and salons," Wave said temptingly. She could tell Sonia's type.

"Come on Sonia, it'll be just us girls. We can get to know each other better and help you feel at ease," Blaze encouraged.

"Go on sis," Sonic encouraged.

"Well, okay," Sonia finally agreed, thinking of the salons.

"Great, I needed to get out of here," Rouge said.

"I guess it would help to scope this city out for when Eggman returns," Shade said.

"Hey Manic, how about taking a ride around the city the fun way," Jet called suddenly.

"All right, now you're talking my language," Manic enthusiastically agreed. "Maybe a little competition to liven things up?"

"You're on," Jet replied. Manic rushed to his hover board leaping on. He and Jet headed out.

Waving, Manic called, "See ya sibs! We'll be back whenever!"

"Be careful out there!" Sonic and Sonia both called.

"Well _he_ doesn't need to be put at ease. You'd think he was always a part of your gang," Sonia said to Sonic.

"Come on Sonia, let's go," Wave hurried.

"Coming! See you later Sonic," she said to her brother.

"Yeah…" he said uncertainly.

Sonia looked sympathetic then offered a reassuring smile saying, "This isn't a dream Sonic. We'll be back." With that they left.

"She'll come back Sonic, don't worry," Storm said as he was walking by him with a sandwich. "Hey Big, I've got the bait!" he called to the cat.

"All right, let's go!" Big said excitedly.

"It would figure that _they'd_ hit it off," Vector said coldly.

"Whoa, easy Vector," Sonic said with a smile.

"Humph, we should be preparing for Eggman," Shadow bitterly said.

"They need to wind down Shadow," Espio replied.

"Yeah, you could use a break too," Tails said.

"Shadow doesn't need a break, he's too cool!" Charmy buzzed in reply, making Tails look at him annoyed. Shadow rolled his eyes with a flattered smirk.

"Subject Shadow is warm blooded. It is not possible for him to be cool," Omega corrected. Sonic and Silver stifled chuckles. Shadow scowled at them.

"Uh, not that kind of cool Omega," Vector said as if the robot were an idiot.

It was nearing evening and the girls were returning. Rouge and Shade looked bored with the day, yet Rouge did admire herself in a window a few times. "Ah I needed that so badly," Sonia sighed in contentment. "That was a brilliant idea."

"I must admit it's nice to forget about mechanics and work and treat myself," Wave agreed as she looked in a window.

"True, but we can't forget about Eggman," Blaze said as she dropped the remainder of an ice cream cone into a garbage can.

Tikal suddenly stopped with a gasp. "Look!" she exclaimed. Up ahead people were screaming and running from a large robot!

"That egg gunner is causing trouble. No problem. We'll take care of it," Shade declared pulling Amy and Cream to her.

"Right, Team Rose go!" Amy declared. The trio attacked the bot quickly. Amy struck first with her peko peko hammer. Angered the robot began shooting. Amy and Shade divided. Cream flew up into the air then over the bots head.

"Cheese go!" she ordered her Chao. Cheese instantly obeyed. The robot lost control for a moment, shooting bullets everywhere. It was then that Shade ran at it, slid beneath it, then punched upwards. That was it for the bot. The trio raced back to the others as the robot blew up.

"Well that was random," Sonia remarked, puzzled.

"You find these guys, well, Eggman's robots, everywhere usually, but you're right, that was strange. It wasn't looking for anything, just disturbing the peace. What's going on?" Blaze asked.

"Maybe it was a distraction, or just meant to annoy us," Rouge said.

"A warning?" Sonia offered.

"Eggman's trying to confuse us," Wave said with a shake of her head.

"It's working so far mate," Marine replied.

"Come on. We'll tell the others about it. Maybe they can offer some insight," Amy said. The girls hurried on.

Manic cried, "Woohoo that was a blast!"

"Sonic wasn't kidding when he said you were good with a hover board," Jet said excitedly as they were arriving at the house that evening.

"All in all we're pretty evenly matched on it though," Manic said.

"Doesn't mean I'll stop trying to beat you," Jet replied.

Manic frowned down at something then attacked another small robot. Going back up to Jet, who frowned in annoyance at the bot too, he said, "Man these guys are everywhere. They're beginning to get on my nerves."

"Welcome to our world," Jet grimaced. "But there do seem to be more than usual. I wonder why? They're not hard to beat. Why wouldn't Robuttnick, as you once called him, send out more of the more difficult ones?" Manic shrugged. "Anyway, race you back," Jet challenged with a smile.

"You're on," Manic replied.

Things were winding down in the house slowly. Dinner was done and now they were beginning to retire to bed after talking about the strange numbers of robots and the random appearances that had been going on. Shadow stood on the balcony looking out over the large yard, far into the distance. He could see ocean and mountains from here. He heard footsteps but didn't turn. They stopped. After a moment a voice said, "So you're Shadow, right?"

He looked back a moment only to see Sonic's sister. "What of it?" he questioned.

"Well forgive me for trying to make conversation," she replied, a little put off at his attitude.

"I would think, Sonia, that from the stories you've heard about me that you would expect as much. Why you aren't avoiding me I don't know," Shadow replied.

She cringed remembering his story. "You've had a tough life, haven't you?" she asked.

"Humph," he replied.

"Oh come on, lighten up," she said. He looked at her as if he doubted her sanity.

"Listen hedgehog, don't try to work your way into my mind. Don't try to be my friend. Friends are weaknesses. I don't need weaknesses," he gently said, yet the tone conveyed that he was about done talking to her.

"What about Omega and Rouge and Sonic and Silver and the others?" she asked.

"I've tried more than once to kill your brother. I've nearly succeeded almost every time. He is _not_ my friend, and why you'd try to be friends with his would be murderer is beyond me. As for the others… Omega and Rouge are my teammates, nothing more. Goodnight Sonia," he dismissed. With that he leapt from the balcony and ran off into the night.

"Well I never," Sonia harrumphed. Her mouth opened curiously as she heard flapping wings. She looked up only to see Rouge flying after Shadow.

Suddenly a voice spoke saying, "Don't mind him. Like you said, he's had a tough life."

"Huh?" she asked looking up. Someone appeared from thin air looking down at her from the wall. "Oh, it's you, Espio, right?"

"Glad to see you remembered my name," he said with a small smirk.

Sonia looked back out in the direction Shadow had run, as Espio came and stood next to her. "What's his deal?" she questioned.

She noted how Espio paused. She turned to see him pursing his lips, thinking. After a long time he replied, "I don't know. Let me put it this way, you only _thought_ your brothers were dead. What if you'd _watched_ them die right in front of you after they made sure you would escape unharmed? What if you didn't know whether everything you knew, everything you remembered, was fake or real, didn't know whether you were a weapon of mass destruction or destined to save the world?"

After hesitating a moment Sonia replied, "I can't imagine."

"No, yet Shadow lives it every day," Espio said. She remained silent but looked sadly down feeling pity for the black hedgehog.

"Why did Rouge follow him?" Sonia asked after a moment. "I mean, he made it obvious he didn't want anyone to tail him."

"Rouge… She's a strange one. She appears narcissistic, conceited, cold, but when it comes to Shadow she opens up a new side of her, one that cares, worries, longs to help. Shadow worked himself into her heart; she's worked herself into his. They're friends, good friends. So far as any of us can tell, she's the only one that can… well, he doesn't let anyone in, but she's come close to breaking him more than once. They have a bond that's hard to explain. I won't call it love because Shadow's blocked love from his mind and heart, but they're more than simple friends, more than best friends even. She's the first one to get to him since Maria. Meanwhile Omega's the only one he's outwardly called friend. Team Dark is full of strange bonds," Espio replied. Sonia watched the chameleon in fascination, hanging on his every word. No sooner had he finished his narrative then they saw Shadow and Rouge walking towards the home side by side in silence, not even looking at each other, just like nothing had happened. "We all have sides to us that are hard to explain Sonia, but you'll get used to them," Espio finished. With that he turned and left. Sonia looked towards the nearing pair, shivered in the cold, then followed Espio inside.

Shadow had run into the woods without stopping. All at once, though, he came to a halt at the edge of a cliff overlooking the ocean. He stood there like a statue. He heard wings nearing him. Every time… Why did she always follow? She landed next to him. He never looked at her. They stayed there silent for a long time. Finally Rouge said, "You were cold Shadow. She was only trying to be friends."

"I don't need a lecture Rouge," he replied.

"I know; you're the ultimate life form. _You_ don't need anything," she said. He looked down angrily.

He faced her, the anger still present, then replied through gritted teeth, "You're starting to bug me."

"It's what I do," she said with a smile. He looked startled at the ready admission then harrumphed looking back over the water. After a moment more she said, "You're stuck with them now Shadow. They'll soon see you treat everyone like that."

"Like what?" Shadow asked.

"Like you don't care when you really do," Rouge retorted slightly sharply. He said nothing. She sighed. "Come on Shadow; let's go home. Eggman could make his move at any time. We need our rest." He wordlessly turned, walking alongside her back towards the house.

"Sooo, Tikal, what's it like living in an emerald?" Manic asked from his position of leaning back on an easy chair with his feet up as he tossed the blue chaos emerald up and down. Blaze was sleeping on a couch.

Tikal watched the emerald worriedly, yet fascinated at the confidence with which Manic tossed. He wasn't worried in the least about dropping it. She nervously said, "If Knuckles sees you tossing the Chaos Emerald like that…"

"Don't worry about Knux. I'm not. He's busy practicing fighting with Shade," Manic replied. "Interesting couple those two."

"They're not technically a couple yet, with Rouge and now with Sonia back…" she distractedly replied. "Manic, he gets violent when he thinks the Master or Chaos Emeralds are in danger," Tikal fearfully said, forgetting the subject of Knuckles and Shade, worried for her friend who kept tossing it up.

Manic looked at her amused then stopped, saying, "Okay, fine." He put it back on the coffee table taking his feet down. "You haven't answered my question."

Tikal replied vaguely, "It's, interesting, living in it."

"How so?" he pressed.

She looked at him for a moment then replied, "It's hard to explain Manic."

"Try," he encouraged.

She sighed. She wouldn't get a break. "I lived four thousand years ago Manic. It's my spirit that is sealed inside the emerald. A spirit I can materialize, but a spirit nonetheless."

"Wait, so you're… dead?" he asked worriedly, suddenly serious.

"I wouldn't call it that, exactly," she replied. He was about to press further when Espio and Sonia entered from the balcony.

Sonic entered with Silver saying, "Has anyone seen Shadow?"

"I'll say I have," Sonia said.

"Ah, you tried to be nice to him, didn't you?" Silver asked.

"Uh, yeah," Sonia replied.

"You'll learn soon enough sis," Sonic teased.

"What do you mean?" Manic asked.

"You'll learn soon enough too," Sonic replied with a laugh.

"I can hear you," Shadow's voice spoke from behind Sonic and Silver. They gasped then turned.

"Uh, Shads, hey," Sonic said innocently. He rolled his eyes then walked by without a word.

Rouge rolled her eyes affectionately then said, "I'm heading to bed now."

"We should all be asleep," Espio replied with a nod.

Silver smiled at the sleeping Blaze then went up to her. Gently he shook her awake saying, "Blaze, Blaze, bedtime."

"Hmm…" she groaned. She woke up then gasped in surprise.

"Silver, ooh," she angrily said, blushing. Silver laughed.

"Fine, I'm going to bed," she said in an annoyed tone.

"Good, Sleeping Beauty didn't wait for her prince sprawled over a couch," Rouge teased.

"Save it Rouge," Blaze crossly retorted as she stormed passed.

"Is she usually like that when she wakes up?" Manic asked Silver.

"Depends," Silver replied with a smile. With that the group went to their rooms.


	19. Team Vile's Plan

_**Painful Memories**_

_**Team Vile's Plan**_

"So, Queen Aleena has finally caught up with her hedgehog brats hmm? On top of that she even managed to save Sonic right when you had him in your grasp," Eggman said from his place lounging on a throne in his Flying Egg Fortress, aka Sleet's old hideaway. Sleet was kneeling before him, the other two behind him, Fang to the wolf's right, Dingo to his left.

"Hey Dingo," Fang whispered, "Eggman's not happy. How's Sleet going to get out of this?"

"Don't worry about _him_ Nack mate," Dingo replied. "Sleet can fast talk his way out of anything. Watch him work."

"I've given you the benefit of the doubt so far Sleet, but your plan seems to be falling apart at the seams. I warn you, I don't take kindly to failure. You should have obeyed _me_!" Eggman continued. "I told you not to go easy on him! I told you to use my E-series, at least stronger bots, but would you listen? No! I should have you killed!"

"Please your geniusness, listen! Everything is under control. If I had used your stronger robots the whole plan would be blown. The swat bots you had once when we first battled the Underground were good, but they were nothing compared to some of the ones you've been unleashing lately. They associate _us_ with easily defeated enemies because of when we fought them, before they had much experience. By using your weaker ones we are giving the subconscious message that because _we're_ back, _you're_ weaker. The Underground's friends are the same way since they have been told the stories. They will be put off guard, at ease; meanwhile we will be, let's say, _training_ the E-series. This time _none _of them will turn against us. I'll make sure of it. When they have infiltrated this base to try and get the emeralds, we will let loose the E-100's. They will be taken off guard, not expecting it. Meanwhile Queen Aleena will not be able to stay away from her children. She is losing her will power. We will leave false leads that the time has come for her to join them and become the Council of Four. She is watching. Hints left for the Chaotix, the Babylon Rogues, and a few of the other teams will convince her. If things work as planned the Underground will meet their mother on the Egg Fortress after separating from their friends, and while they are alone, we unleash Metal Sonic with all of the Chaos Emeralds and Sol Emeralds powering him. We can duplicate the fourteen emeralds' power and ingrain it in all one-hundred-twenty-two of your E-series. The others will be defeated by the power of the so called, 'Super' or 'Semi-Super' E-series, all of them at once. Not even Shadow will stand a chance. Not with the weaknesses we have determined he has from your stories. Those closest to him, Rouge and Omega, must be last to die. I won't let them defeat Rouge, at least, not until Shadow has been destroyed. Sire, I beg you, this will work!" Sleet stated certainly.

"Whoa, he's good, he's convinced _me_ to let him go and I didn't _need_ convincing," Fang whispered to Dingo in awe.

"Told ya," Dingo replied.

Eggman looked shocked. After a moment he stammered, "Uh, y-yes, well, ahem, carry on with your plan then. One more thing though; how do we get the emeralds we've lost back?"

Sleet opened his mouth to answer but then closed it. He didn't think of that. Eggman began to smirk, feeling victorious and no longer inferior. Fang, though, quickly stepped in saying, "Cream's mother!" Eggman's smirk fell. Sleet looked hopefully back at his teammate. Fang continued, "Vanilla is talented, but we can take her out together. She lacks Cream's experience in fighting. We take her, even dropping a hint that the time has come for the royals to unite, then send something of hers to Cream."

"Of course," Sleet said, catching on. Fang smirked then let their leader take over again. "Cream will be devastated. Team Rose won't be able to help but try to go to her rescue. You have said Team Chaotix is closely tied to Vanilla and Cream, so naturally they will be obliged to go too. That will be two teams out of the hideout."

"The hideout which Nack can easily get into if the others are gone too," Dingo remarked. The other two looked at him mildly surprised.

"Yes," Sleet said in surprise. He snapped out of it then continued, "You have hundreds of small robots. All we have to do is pick a faraway part of the city then unleash them. Maybe bring out the always reliable old swat bots once more. The other teams will rush heroically in and their meeting place will be left wide open. Nack can steal our stolen emeralds back. He'll leave the last hint there, or we leave it for the Chaotix. Etcetera, etcetera, the plan works!" Sleet finished.

"Excellent. It seems I was right to partner you three together. Combined we are unstoppable!" Eggman exclaimed boastfully. He then burst into laughter.

"I hope you're right," Sleet muttered.

"Of course he is. We're _bound _to win," Nack whispered back.

"I suppose…" Sleet hesitantly said. "By the way, that was a nice save Nack. And whether I want to admit it or not, the weasel sneaking into the meeting place was brilliant Dingo, for someone as stupid as you."

"Thanks Sleet," Dingo replied.

Eggman finished laughing then yelled, "Now go!"

"Yes Sir!" the three fearfully obeyed. They charged from the room.

Queen Aleena watched over the meeting house solemnly. 'So, my children have been reunited at last. Now only _I_ remain as the odd one out. I want this to end. I want to hold my children in my arms again. Give up your children, separate. Bide your time, lie in wait. That is how the prophecy went… only I don't know how much longer I can bide my time.' She turned with a flip of her cape, tears in her eyes, then cast one last glance back. 'I wonder and fear what Sleet's plan might be.'

"So what's next on the agenda Sleet?" Dingo asked.

Sleet replied with an evil, cruel, smirk, "I think it's about time we introduced ourselves to our rival teams."

"Are you kidding? I mean, usually I'm the confident one, and yeah, we could probably take down most of the team's, but what about Team Sonic, Team Sol, and Team Dark?" Fang said incredulously.

"Ah yes, the ultimate life form. I almost forgot," Sleet grimaced. "Sonic may be distracted by his siblings return, Silver and his friends are each others obvious weaknesses, especially the child, but Shadow…"

"So plan B then mate?" Dingo asked.

Sleet chuckled villainously as he drew out another device like the transforming one. He then replied, "Of course not Dingo. I said I _almost_ forgot, not I _completely_ forgot!" With that he pressed a button. All at once numerous Sleet's appeared. Fang and Dingo stopped with gasps. Sleet continued, "Allow me to introduce the mega clones." The clones followed his words exactly, sounding like one Sleet, but the voice coming from all directions. "They move on their own but say exactly what I say. If we can't beat Team Dark with strength and skill, we'll use brains and wiles. Of course Dingo won't be much use in that, but even _he_ can't screw up too badly." Nack and Dingo grinned maliciously.


	20. Team Vile Meets Chaotix and Underground

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Starting with this one there may be up to five chapters put up today since, well, you'll see. Some people are wondering about pairings. I'm doing this like the games, hints at many but not fully supporting any one or another. I have my own personal preferences, which I may reveal in the final author's note, as well as mentioning some triangles that have or will be going on, but I don't necessarily delve into them with this story. So if you're looking for a pairing chances are you'll see hints at that pairing at least once just to make as many people as I can happy with it. Enjoy this rare upload of a series of chapters.)

_**Team Vile Meets Teams Underground And Chaotix**_

Team Underground were relaxing on the estate. Sonia lay in a lawn chair in a bathing suit and sunglasses sunbathing, enjoying every second. Just then, though, a breeze blew by making her sit up in alarm, then a ball bounced off her head. "Ouch!" she exclaimed. She pulled down her sunglasses and yelled, "Manic!"

"Sorry sis, but I've got to teach Tikal how to handle a hover board and catch a ball! Can you believe she doesn't know how? Who knows, she may have to use one and catch a Chaos Emerald one day," he called half-jokingly.

"Oh brother," Sonia grumbled. She lay back down trying to ignore her teammates.

Manic soon came to a stop beside Tikal, whose eyes were wide in amazement. "That's how you do it," Manic said.

"Wow," she replied.

He smirked then reached out his hand saying, "Here, hop on."

"_Me_? I-I don't know. What if I fall?" she asked.

"I'll catch you," he replied with a wink. She blushed.

"Give it a break Manic!" Sonia called. Manic scowled at her. He turned back with a smile as Tikal took his hand shyly then hopped on.

"Okay, you're in front of me. I'm right here," he said. She pushed back into his front. He smiled happily, though he blushed too. "All right, let's ride!" he said. With that he shot off. Tikal screamed in surprise. Manic laughed.

"It's not funny!" she insisted.

"Easy Tikal, don't start to panic," Manic assured looking fondly at her. She swallowed then looked down. She gasped at the height and tried to hide deeper in Manic's fur. She lived on a floating island for Pete's sake, why was she afraid? Oh yes, hover boards weren't nearly as safe as whole islands. "I've got you," Manic soothingly said as he wrapped his arms firmly around her waist. Why did her face feel warm? Manic began to pull tricks, yet she felt safe with his arms around her. Of course, it was the feeling of security, that was why. She was feeling more at ease with the hover board too.

"This is fun," she said in amusement.

"Oh how well I know," Manic replied slowly taking his arms from her. She was doing fine on her own now. They flew near Sonia who watched slightly amused. Manic dropped a ball into her hands as he let the board hover. "Hey sis, toss one at Tikal."

"What?" Tikal asked.

"It's easy. All you have to do is catch it," Manic reassured. With that he flew off again. Tikal looked to the ball in Sonia's hands and focused. Sonia threw it. Instinctively Tikal caught it without trouble. "Wow, great catch!" Manic exclaimed as he brought the board in for a landing. The two hopped off.

"That was amazing Manic! I see why you, Jet, and the Babylon Rogues love it so much!" Tikal exclaimed. Serious and quiet once more, though, she added, "But I prefer my own way of flying."

Manic chuckled as he passed Tikal. Suddenly something hit his head making him yelp. Tikal jumped. He rubbed his head where it struck saying, "Whoa, good throw Tikal."

"Manic, that wasn't me," she replied.

"Huh?" he asked, mildly surprised. Looking down he saw paper wrapped around a rock. "What's this?" he asked as he bent down. Tikal, curious, floated over. Sonia pushed up her sunglasses frowning suspiciously at her brother. She saw him pick up the rock then hurried over feeling suddenly worried.

"What? What is it Manic?" she asked.

He opened it then gasped. "It's a note from mom!"

"_What_! Let me see!" Sonia demanded. She snatched part of it then read: My dear children, I must write quickly. Sleet, Dingo, and Fang are in pursuit. In a cave outside of the city I've located one of the Chaos Emeralds. You must go to it immediately if you want to beat Eggman. Oh how I miss you my darlings. I hope that soon we can be reunited. With all the love in my heart, your mother, Queen Aleena.

"She found a Chaos Emerald! We'd better hurry to get it!" Manic said.

"Get what?" a young voice spoke.

The three turned to see the Chaotix; Charmy hovering in the air, Vector with hands on his hips looking curious, and Espio on the wall. "Espio, hi," Sonia said, subconsciously fixing her hair.

"Their mother, Queen Aleena, has written telling them she's located a Chaos Emerald," Tikal excitedly said.

"Where's Sonic?" Manic asked. "We should bring him too. If mom's still there…"

"Team Sonic is scouting for Eggman," Vector replied. "Here, let a real detective read that note," he said, snatching it.

"Hey!" Team Underground chorused.

"Let's see here," he said. He instantly became confused, asking, "Hey, what is this? Is it in code?"

"Give me that," Espio ordered, snatching it. He looked at it, expression exasperated; clearly thinking Vector was a moron. "Idiot, this is upside down!" he yelled at the crocodile as he turned it the right way.

Charmy laughed, pointing at Vector saying, "Leave it to Vector! If anyone knows how to screw up it's him! He's best at it!"

"Thank you Charmy… Hey!" Vector yelled.

Espio rolled his eyes at his teammates then read it. "If this is on the level it'll be one lucky break," he finally said, handing it back to Sonia from the wall.

"If? Of course it is," Sonia uncertainly said, looking at it.

Espio took part of it saying, "I hope you're right, but look in the center of the paper under the writing. There's an imprint of some kind like something was drawn on another piece of paper above this one. It left an indent." Suddenly he realized he was on a wall looking down on Sonic's sister in a bathing suit. He gasped and began to blush. Desperately he tried to hide his discomfort but couldn't stop squirming.

Sonia didn't seem to notice. She squinted then held the note to the light. After a moment she gasped saying, "Oh my gosh, you're right! It's Sleet's symbol!"

"If Sleet wrote this it's a trap; but we can't afford to _not_ check. It could be true," Manic said.

"It _does_ say she was being pursued. She might have been spying in his room and got caught. She could have grabbed a sheet of paper and run," Tikal offered, placing a hand on Manic's shoulder.

"In that case, Team Chaotix is at your service. We'll go with you as backup!" Vector declared. "Another brilliant plan by yours truly." He looked to the Chameleon and complimented, "Good detecting Espio!" He slapped the still uncomfortable and shifting chameleon on the back knocking the ninja gracelessly from the wall. He fell with a splat at Sonia's feet. She gasped. He dazedly rose. She giggled. Manic raised an eyebrow.

"Yay, an adventure!" Charmy cheered.

"All right, let's go then," Sonia said as she helped Espio up. As soon as she went inside to change then returned the two teams promptly took off.

They reached the cave in minutes. They stopped at the entrance. Sonia looked back at the Chaotix saying, "Okay, you guys stay here. If we don't come back in fifteen minutes come after us. Team Underground can handle this." As she finished talking she put her arms around her teammates.

"Can I go, please?" Charmy begged Vector.

Vector looked at him annoyed. "No way Charmy. We'll stay here. If this is a trap I don't need one of us getting hurt," Vector replied. "After all we _are_ the backup."

"But…" Charmy began.

"Ah!" Vector cut off as he put up his hand to silence the bee.

"Humph, fine," Charmy sulked. Team Underground shook their heads affectionately then entered the cave.

"Sooo, what's with you and Sonia?" Vector asked Espio.

He blushed deeply then shot, "Nothing! We're friends and she's cute! Besides, she probably still likes Knuckles, and _he_ sure as Hades likes _her_, the Casanova! Shade, Rouge, Tikal, Sonia… Look, just focus on the robots heading our way!" He harrumphed then turned invisible signaling he was done talking. Vector and Charmy shared a glance. Vector chuckled, Charmy giggled, Espio harrumphed again, still invisible, then they prepared to face the hoard of various robots.

"Don't worry Espio; Tikal might be crossed off the list soon. After all, they could be related. He's a descendant of Tikal's father remember?" Vector teased.

Steadily Team Underground fought their way through the cave. After what seemed like forever they finally made it to a wide open pocket of the cave. They peeked inside, looking around. "Tikal, do you sense anything?" Manic asked.

Tikal focused a moment then replied, "I-I'm not sure."

"Not sure? What do you mean not sure?" Sonia asked, annoyed.

Tikal frowned at her, but then grew uneasy, answering, "I sense a strange power, but not Chaos Emerald power."

"Sol Emerald maybe? Mom could have gotten confused. After all, she's never actually seen Sol Emeralds, and you wouldn't be used to _their_ power." Manic said.

"Maybe…" Tikal hesitantly said.

Sonia looked inside again. A glint caught her eye and she gasped. "There!" she exclaimed, rushing in. Manic and Tikal followed. Sonia instantly stooped to pick it up. "It's orange," she said.

"Orange?" Tikal asked.

"Yeah, why? What's wrong?" Sonia asked.

"There _is_ no orange Chaos Emerald," Tikal hollowly replied. "There's a yellow one. We're the most inexperienced team of them all. Maybe we should just go."

"Well maybe the light in here is making it look orange, just be ready," Manic said hopefully, though he was fully aware of their inexperience and suspicious because of past encounters with orange objects they thought were safe. "Now let's get out of here and tell Sonic," Manic continued, jerking his thumb at the entrance. Manic turned to head out. Sonia began following.

Tikal, though, looked all of a sudden puzzled, then alarmed. She gasped, exclaiming, "Manic, Sonia, they're here!"

Sonia froze with a gasp, clutching the emerald. Manic turned to Tikal in shock. Lucky too, for he spotted the metallic silver of a gun! "Tikal, look out!" he cried, racing to her.

"Huh?" she asked. Just then she saw it. She screamed as it was fired! Suddenly she was tackled out of the way! Her and Manic rolled safely from the bullets path then turned. Sonia watched, mouth agape. Suddenly the emerald began to shake. She gasped then heard familiar laughing. She turned only to see Sleet emerging from the shadows, shape shifting remote pointed at the Emerald. Fang flew down from a ledge up high on his bike. The emerald swiftly turned into Dingo! Dingo lifted Sonia from the ground like nothing as she shrieked!

"Sonia," Dingo dazedly said.

"Oh yuck," Sonia remarked.

Meanwhile, the Chaotix had taken care of the bots. They were lounging outside the cave counting the minutes. Vector began to get agitated. He checked his watch again then said, "Fifteen minutes is taking too long. There's five more left! I can't sit here for that amount of time! Come on, the robots are gone, let's go after them."

"Stick to the plan," Espio simply replied.

"Oh please, I make my own plans. Come on Espio. Besides, Sonia might be in danger," Vector replied with a teasing glint.

"There's nothing between us!" Espio yelled. Nonetheless he stood up, turned invisible, then climbed up the wall heading into the cave.

"Finally!" Charmy said excitedly. He buzzed quickly in.

"Hey, wait for me!" Vector called, hurrying to keep up to his teammates.

"Sonia, no!" Manic cried, leaping up and trying to run to her defense. Nack, though, fired another gun different than the pistol. It trapped Manic in strange goo he'd only seen once before, a long time ago when they first dealt with a chaos emerald, Knuckles at their side.

Tikal hurried towards him calling, "Manic!" However, with speed not typical of what they remembered about Sleet, and he was quick enough before, he had taken care of her. One swift, strong, kick sent her flying back and crashing into the ground.

"Tikal!" Manic cried.

"Perfect. One Team down, six to go," Sleet gloated calmly to the other two.

"Let her go creep!" a voice furiously called from above.

"What!" Nack exclaimed, looking up. "Look out!" he cried. Sleet gasped. Fang and the wolf dove out of the way just in time.

Espio had appeared and leapt down at Dingo from the wall! He delivered a strong kick that hurt Dingo enough to make him let Sonia go. She fell to the ground as Espio rolled out of the way of a striking fist. "Yeow!" Dingo exclaimed.

"You think _that's_ owe? Try _this_!" Vector suddenly cried, charging Dingo. He and Dingo tumbled on the floor locked in battle.

"Ah Team Chaotix, Team Underground, welcome. It's time you met Team Vile!" Sleet said coldly with a smirk.

Espio drew ninja stars then tossed them at the goo holding Manic. Manic leapt free then ran to the unconscious echidna girl. Charmy zipped by them, bee lining for Fang. He stung before Nack could react. The weasel cried out in pain, momentarily paralyzed. "That's for trying to trick us!" Charmy victoriously crooned. "Look Vector, I got one!" he called proudly.

"Good boy!" Vector grunted as he fought to keep Dingo from gaining the upper hand.

Sleet, though, suddenly raced to his 'friends' aid. Picking up a piece of wood he ran at Charmy then nailed the child like he was a baseball right into the wall! Charmy screamed in pain then fell motionless to the ground. "Take that pest," he coldly said.

Vector looked instantly up from his fight calling in a panicked tone, "Charmy!"

Dingo landed a hit, but Sonia got to him in time to save the crocodile. "Go! I've got Dingo now!" she called. Vector growled then barreled at the wolf.

"You're going down Sleet meat!" he roared, using Sonic's old name for the enemy.

"I'll help!" Espio yelled furiously, racing towards Sleet.

"Wait up!" Manic ordered, rushing with them. Sleet cried out in alarm then braced himself; but at that moment Fang regained his senses. The weasel saw the attack then moved. He leapt on the 'Marvelous Queen' and flew right into Vector knocking him back. He tried to draw his gun, but Vector easily kept it away from him. That is, until he flew back then freed the gun. Without hesitation he shot at Vector. Vector gasped and moved, but not quickly enough. A bullet tore through his leg making him cry out in pain and collapse! Nack was about to finish him, but from the corner of his eye he caught a more pressing problem. Sleet was going to be in trouble even with the crocodile down if he didn't move to help.

Relieved not to have to face the crocodile Sleet faced the speeders. He drew out a gun and sword. He gritted his teeth and braced himself for the attack, ready and willing to kill. "I can take the gun, get the sword," Espio ordered Manic.

"No problemo," Manic replied.

"Oh no?" a voice questioned. From nowhere Nack barreled into Espio, plowing him into the ground then beginning to battle! Manic didn't slow. Sleet fired, but Manic dodged. He then dove into Sleet and the two battled viciously. Soon, though, Sleet managed to free his sword hand and strike Manic in the head knocking him away. He went in for the kill, sword ready to plunge down, but just as Manic regained his senses enough to see he couldn't escape, Tikal rammed into Sleet tackling him away! She quickly went to help Manic.

Sleet staggered up in time for Sonia to throw Dingo into him knocking him back down. Espio had drawn a sharp ninja weapon. On seeing it Nack paled, or would have if he could. Quickly Fang flew up high, trying to get away from him. He landed next to his partners who were staggering up. All three were surrounded! "Know when to give up," Tikal said.

"Oh I do," Sleet assured. "Retreat! We've gone too far already! We have a few more visits to pay anyway," he ordered. With that he jumped up onto Fang's bike, Dingo was next, and Nack flew up through a high hole in the cave roof to the outside.

Team Underground and Espio were about to pursue, but just then they spotted Vector hobbling towards Charmy's limp form. Tikal gasped and covered her mouth. "Oh no," she said.

Vector gently picked the little bee up into his arms. "V-Vector, is he going to be okay?" Sonia worriedly asked.

Vector said nothing a moment. He had gone from immature and irresponsible to responsible and serious adult within a second. He sighed. He looked back at them answering, "I have to get Charmy back to the meeting place. I don't want you kids going after them, but you probably will anyway. I'll see you later."

"No chance! We'll go with you to see if he's okay," Espio firmly declared, challenging anyone to argue.

Manic looked longingly after his enemies. They were now out of sight. He sighed then said, "Right Vector, we couldn't catch them now anyway. Let's get the little guy some help. Besides, you're not in very good shape either big dude."

"None of us are," Tikal said. Vector nodded with a smile. They then headed back.


	21. Team Vile Meets Team Sol

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: This is the second I've uploaded today for those of you who forget which chapter they left off on. I know I do. There's a slightly random character intro, but she was crucial to the plot so hopefully it's not too random of an entrance from her. No it's not the Queen.)

_**Team Vile Meets Team Sol**_

The other teams were back at the meeting place. Team Sonic entered last. "Hey guys, where's Sonia and Manic? Last I checked they were with Tikal outside."

"That was hours ago Sonic man," Jet replied.

"Team Underground took off somewhere a while ago," Storm informed.

"I heard them mention something about a Chaos Emerald and your mother," Shade said.

"What!" Sonic demanded, seizing her arms, the hope in his eyes surrounded by worry.

"Knuckles growled then pulled Sonic back from her. He shook his head at the blue hedgehog warningly. Sonic blushed slightly embarrassed. Knuckles then turned to Shade saying, "A Chaos Emerald? Did they find the hidden one?"

"I have no clue, they just left with the Chaotix," Shade replied.

"Those idiots; do they even know what they're dealing with?" Shadow asked. "This isn't just one Chaos Emerald this time. It's seven!"

"Right, and this time there are the Sol emeralds too," Rouge said slightly chagrined.

"Team Underground does not have the experience we have, and the Chaotix will either hinder or help them. It is unknown which of the two possibilities it will be. I estimate that if Vector takes charge it will be hinder. They do not know how to handle Sleet and Dingo. Neither do they know how to handle Fang well either," Omega analyzed.

"Hey, have faith in my sibs," Sonic defended angrily. "They know how to handle a Chaos Emerald."

"Sonic, what if it's a trap?" Rouge challenged.

Sonic shifted uncomfortably. "They can handle Sleet, Dingo, and Fang," Sonic replied.

"You said they seemed more powerful than before faker," Shadow said.

"They'll be fine!" Sonic barked. He looked towards the window and added, "They have to be."

"I'm sure they'll be back soon," Amy reassured her friend as she placed a hand on his shoulder. He sighed letting his shoulders sag.

Just then the door was knocked on. "What the… Who would be calling at this hour?" Knuckles asked.

"Mother!" Cream exclaimed as she leapt from the couch and ran for the door. She threw it open then leapt into Vanilla's arms.

"Cream darling, you got my message!" Vanilla exclaimed, holding her daughter.

"Ms. Vanilla, what are you doing here? Cream neglected to tell us anything," Amy said pleasantly.

"I came to visit Cream. She's been gone a while," Vanilla replied. "I was getting worried. Vanilla then turned solemnly to Sonic. "Cream has updated me on what's happened. You have siblings dear? I'd like to meet them."

"They're, uh, gone at the moment," Sonic nervously said.

"Don't worry Sonic, I'm sure your mother will protect them," Vanilla said.

"Yeah," Sonic replied, trying to cut off the subject.

However, Vanilla looked far away with a hesitant uncomfortable look. They watched her curiously. After a moment she seemed to decide on something. She turned back to Sonic and said cautiously, "I remember Queen Aleena. Mobodoon, was it? Yes. There was quite the uproar when she went missing once. This was before you were born of course, even before she was Queen." Sonic looked curious. Vanilla sighed then said, "I suppose you should know that I knew her back then, as unbelievable as it seems. I never knew you were her child or I would have told you long ago. I was shocked beyond belief when Cream let me know what was going on. It's not all that important now, but we were close. Of course after Robotnick took over I lost contact with her."

"You knew her!" Sonic demanded.

"It's nothing, really Sonic. I was quite a bit younger than her, but yes. We were best friends for a little while," Vanilla replied.

"Mommy, you never told me that," Cream said in awe.

"It was a long time ago honey," Vanilla said. She turned to Sonic then said, "I promise you I never knew that she was your mother. I was shocked speechless to learn. That's another reason I've come here. I hope to see her again one day."

"Don't we all?" Sonic asked bitterly.

"It must be hard being separated from her, especially now that you know she's still alive," Vanilla said sympathetically. Sonic looked sadly down, and unhappily nodded. Shadow rolled his eyes then simply rose and ran off. Rouge watched after him and sighed. She never followed though. Not this time.

It was night by the time the barely victorious two teams stumbled suddenly into the house. All the others were gathered worriedly there, including Shadow. Sonic was pacing, looking terrified by now. What if something had gone wrong? The instant the two battered, fight weary teams banged open the door and stumbled in, he whirled, and the others whipped their heads around. "Sonia, Manic!" Sonic gasped, alarmed at the bruises and cuts. He raced over to them as the others stared open mouthed. Some rose while others remained still, only watching. He threw his arms around the two then pulled back demanding, "What happened!" He then saw Vector's bleeding leg and caught his breath.

"Vector, what happened to you! That's a gunshot wound!" Vanilla demanded worriedly. She then saw Charmy and gasped, covering her mouth.

"Hey mate, what's going on!" Marine demanded from behind.

Blaze quickly turned saying, "Marine, stay back!"

"No way!" Marine shot, shoving by, fearful curiosity getting the best of her. She saw the little bee, though, and screamed loudly. "Charmy!" she cried. Cream and Tails stood in shock. Cream burst into tears. Vector picked her up in his right arm while he held Charmy in the left. "What happened to him!" Marine begged to know.

"Mr. Vector, who hurt Charmy," Cream choked.

"Take a guess," Espio venomously hissed.

"Sleet, Dingo, and Nack," Silver loathingly replied.

"Nailed it," Espio said.

"Oh no, this isn't good," Tails worriedly said.

"No duh genius," Wave barked angrily.

"Don't fight," Big began.

"Stow it!" Wave barked.

"Lay off Wave!" Storm shot.

Vanilla quickly walked by and scooped up the little bee. "Quick, follow me. I can take care of him. Vector, you'll need help too, all of you will."

"We're fine Ms. Vanilla," Sonia said, awed that they finally got to see Cream's mother whom they'd heard so much about. It was a pity they hadn't met under better circumstances.

Vanilla gasped on fully comprehending who was speaking. She was seeing Sonia and Manic right in front of her! "My goodness, you're Sonic's siblings, children of Queen Aleena! I never thought I'd see the day…" she began. Charmy moaned. Vector stepped forward. Vanilla forgot her train of thought muttering, "Oh dear." She quickly headed up the stairs for the rooms. Vector followed her closely with Cream.

"Hey bro, how does she know?" Manic asked Sonic. Sonic began to explain as they all trailed behind Vanilla. Sonia and Manic were shocked.

Charmy was lying on the bed sleeping now. His head was bandaged carefully. Vector's leg was fixed and wrapped and the others cuts and bruises taken care of. Team Chaotix, Team Underground, Team Rose, Team Sol, and Team Sonic were all watching. "Is he going to be all right?" Tails asked, slightly nervous.

"He'll be fine. He just needs rest," Vanilla assured.

"I hope so, he's like a brother to me," Cream sadly said.

Marine was watching him with tears in her eyes. She sniffed. Blaze put a reassuring hand on her shoulder. Marine hugged her friend tightly. "Don't worry Marine. Charmy will be back in action before you know it," Blaze reassured.

"Right and Team Vile will pay for this dearly," Silver angrily promised.

Marine looked back at Charmy then crawled onto the bed next to him. She looked down at him then kissed his cheek saying, "Wake up soon Charmy. I have a bonzer game I wanna show ya mate." Vector was focused out the window, only once in a while looking at the bee.

Vanilla was suddenly next to him. He blushed then looked ashamedly down. "Lecture time?" he asked.

"No," she replied. "He'll be all right Vector, I promise. Don't worry."

"I never should have gone into that cave," Vector bitterly said.

"Look at it this way, if you hadn't Team Underground would be done for," Sonia reassured.

"Don't, say that, please," Sonic said in an upset tone fearing to even think about it.

Marine stared at the bee. Suddenly fury came to her eyes. She leapt from the bed and raced for the window. "Marine!" Silver called. He raced after her. She jumped out the window on purpose, six year old mind telling her she'd be just fine when she landed, but Silver knew better and leapt at her seizing her ankles. He, however, lost his balance and fell too! Blaze gasped then dove after them and grabbed Silver's.

"Let go of me mates!" Marine ordered as they fell towards the ground! Blaze, though, managed to gain control and land softly enough.

"What are you doing! You could have been killed!" Blaze demanded.

"I'm going after Team Vile! They're in for a lot of strife once I'm through with givin' them an outback walloping!" Marine angrily said. By now she realized her mistake, but she was too angry to bother thinking on it.

"There's no way you're going alone!" Blaze shot.

"Team Sol is in this together. We'll back you up all the way," Silver said. Blaze looked at him in disbelief. He smirked then said, "I'm with Marine. They made a mistake attacking one of our friends. Now they're going to deal with _us_." Blaze looked from the raccoon to the hedgehog. Seeing she was outvoted her eyes softened and she sighed.

"All right, we're in this together," she agreed. "Let's go." The team took off into the horizon.

"They're going after Sleet, Dingo, and Nack," Amy said, having heard the plan from the balcony she'd watched them from, as she faced the others.

"I hope they know what they're doing," Sonic said.

"Sleet and Dingo are different Sonic. They're stronger. Well, Dingo's the same as always, but Sleet… It's like he was holding back when we first met him. I mean, like, going easy on us. Think about it. Did he ever actually fight hand to hand with us? He challenged you to face him once, in that one valley we went to where Stripes was, but he never technically attacked. He just stood there and pretty much let you just spin around him and make him dizzy, and we of course would have believed it was just because we were that good. He did that more than once. He used Dingo for hand to hand combat. I mean, bro, we lost to them, or almost did. They pulled out on their own," Manic said trailing off.

"Maybe with Fang the Weasel in the picture now, they can keep Dingo's idiocy in check. He's not hindering Sleet or Nack because one or the other is always watching him, and Sleet never _did_ hinder _him_. Bro, Sleet is no longer countered by Dingo, he's aided more than ever with the help of Nack the Sniper," Sonia said.

"You've got the ending's mixed up sis. It's Nack the Weasel and Fang the Sniper," Sonic said, trying to make light of the situation.

"Sonic, this is serious!" Knuckles said.

"Don't worry about Team Sol. They know how to handle themselves," Shade reassured Knuckles.

"Silver may be the only one of us to rival to Sonic and Shadow both, but something tells me that Team Vile has had lots of time to make up plans," Espio warned.

"Sleet was always a good leader. Heck he tried to overthrow Robuttnick more than once. We usually stopped him unintentionally though. Oh man, we should have _let_ Sleet take over if he could. More than once he almost _did_. Back then he underestimated us and we could have beaten him after Eggman was gone. Here's hoping Team Sol can avoid falling into Team Vile's traps," Sonic said.

"Espio, what's that flashing on your fur?" Sonia suddenly asked.

"Flashing?" Espio asked. She walked up to him swiftly then tore something off of him. "Owe!" he cried.

Sonia looked at it then crushed it. "It was a camera!"

"Fang must have put it on you! That means they know that Team Sol is after them! They know where we are!" Shade exclaimed furiously.

"They knew that already," Tails said trying to calm the angry girls.

"Oh this just gets better and better," Amy complained as she shook her head.

"So what's the plan for Team Sol Sleet?" Nack asked as they turned away from the now crushed camera Nack had planted on Espio during their fight.

"I haven't thought much on it," Sleet confessed uncertainly.

"Oh great," Dingo said.

"As if you would come up with something," Sleet said.

"Course I can, same way we caught Team Underground, only morph me into a Sol Emerald, and the proper color so they don't catch on," Dingo said.

"As if using the same plan would…" Sleet began.

Fang, though, cut him off saying, "No, it might work."

"What?" Sleet demanded.

"Just hear me out. Team Underground may have been the least experienced in fighting in general, but they're _not_ the least experienced in fighting _us_. I mean we even hindered Team Chaotix. Team Underground was suspicious of the Emerald because it was orange, but Team Sol might _not_ be. The cat is the protector. She'll go for it. When she does… Wait, even better. We use a real one! When she grabs it, Dingo, in cage form, drops from above and catches her. Silver will try to get her with his telekinesis, but before he can I'll grab the raccoon girl from behind and hold a gun to her head. Silver won't dare to try anything with his friends in danger. He can only focus on one at a time. Keep them opposite each other. He'll surrender, then you Sleet, can grab him. Even if they manage to somehow escape with the Sol Emerald, we'll get them all back anyway on the next phase of the plan. Eggman must have some power draining gadget we can use to temporarily paralyze Silver's powers and Blaze's."

"Yes, that just might work. Good thinking Nack!" Sleet complimented. "Robotnick was right; you _are_ a break from idiots."

"It's a pleasure Sleet," Fang replied with an evil smirk.

"They've got to be coming soon," Dingo remarked.

"Then let us prepare for the encounter," Sleet said. The three began to laugh evilly.

Team Sol raced towards the cave to look for hints on where they might be, fighting robots along the way. Suddenly, though, Blaze gasped and slid to a stop saying, "Wait!"

Silver and Marine obeyed. "What is it?" Silver demanded.

"I sense a Sol Emerald," Blaze excitedly said.

"Are you sure mate? After all Team Vile used a fake Chaos Emerald," Marine said.

"No, it's unmistakable. A Sol Emerald is nearby," Blaze excitedly said.

Silver closed his eyes and focused. An image of a small Island nearby came to mind. There he saw the distinctive image of the Yellow Sol Emerald! He opened his eyes saying, "She's right. Looks like you're going to get your wish to sail Marine. It's on a small Island off the Coast."

"All right!" Marine cheered.

"Let's go! Team Vile can wait a bit longer," Blaze said.

"There's a place that rents boats just down the beach a little more," Silver offered. "Come on." With that he led the way.

Marine stood behind the wheel excitedly as they steered out into the ocean. "Crikey, this is fun!" Marine exclaimed.

"Focus on the mission Marine, and watch for Team Vile. They could be anywhere," Silver warned.

"Right, right, right, land ahoy!" Marine replied.

"Really?" Blaze asked, hoping she wasn't just shouting it for no reason.

"Of course," Marine said. "Right there."

They looked ahead and saw it. "Okay, let's go," Blaze decreed.

They disembarked the ship onto the little island. "It's close," Silver said as they walked down the beach.

Blaze gasped suddenly and called as she pointed, "It's there!" The others looked. She quickly ran ahead to the Sol Emerald beneath a rock overhang.

"Be careful Blaze!" Silver called after her in alarm. "Something's off here, I sense it!"

As Blaze scooped it up Marine gasped then screamed as she pointed up, "Blaze!"

Blaze looked up and gasped. She shrieked as she was instantly caught in a cage. She felt something tear through her making her cry out in pain them collapse. "No! Blaze! Hold on!" Silver cried as he raced forward.

"Silver, watch Marine!" Blaze screamed as she lunged at the bars.

Eyes appeared and the cage began to chuckle. "I've got her!" a voice said.

Silver slid to a halt in surprise then turned just as Marine cried out in fear and was plucked from the ground. He was all too aware of the gun at the raccoon child's head. "So this is Team Sol huh? Well, we Team Vile are very displeased to meet you," Nack said tauntingly while holding the struggling girl firmly.

"Let them go!" Silver demanded as he prepared to use his telekinesis. Suddenly he felt a jolt of pain go through him and he too fell to the ground like Blaze. He groaned in pain then gasped as he felt himself dragged up and held above the ground. He viciously struggled, but a third voice warned, "I wouldn't do that if I were you. After all, your friend Marine is in a bad position."

"Let me guess, Sleet?" Silver growled.

"At your service," Sleet smirked. "This was too easy, and now you don't have another team backing you up."

"What was that thing," Silver asked.

"Oh this?" Sleet asked, drawing it out. "Nothing much, it only drains your powers."

"What do we do with them?" Dingo asked.

"Nothing!" Blaze shot as she suddenly began to tickle the bars of the cage, hoping and praying he was ticklish.

Dingo began to laugh and bounce saying, "Stop it!"

"We forgot to put a bottom on the cage!" Fang exclaimed in sudden realization. Sleet cried out in alarm as Dingo jumped high enough for Blaze to roll out from under him. Sleet quickly put the power drainer back and took out the morphing device hitting Dingo with it.

"Grab her you dolt!" he ordered as Dingo turned normal. Blaze though was quick enough to dive towards Fang before he realized he still had the advantage.

"Shoot!" Sleet called.

"Oh no you don't!" Silver yelled taking the momentary distraction, and the fact that Sleet wasn't really trying all that hard to hold him, to slip free. He ran at Fang and seized Marine just as the gun shot rang out.

They weren't unscathed, though, for Silver cried out in pain and rolled. He came to a stop and stayed still. "Silver!" Blaze cried on seeing red coming from under the fur.

"Silver, no!" Marine said as she began to shake him and cry. Blaze slid next to him and put a hand on his chest. Fear was in her eyes.

Fang drew his pistol to shoot the powerless team, but Sleet put a hand on his wrist saying, "No, not now. We drop the first clue and let them bring it back to their friends."

"We should finish them now," Fang protested.

"If we finish them _now_, Sonic and company will unleash a full out attack on us! We're not prepared for that yet," Sleet said.

Fang thought a moment. Though he didn't like it he finally nodded his head and lowered the pistol. "What about the Sol Emerald?" Dingo asked.

"We'll get it back anyway," Sleet said. Turning to the team he called, "How pathetic! I can't wait until the Council of Four reunites! Then maybe we'll have a challenge! I'll have the royal family in my hands in the blink of an eye. Thank goodness it's destined to happen very, very, soon. Retreat," Sleet ordered. Fang began to fly away with the others. Team Sol watched after them in shock.

"No! Come back here!" Blaze ordered, knowing it would do no good.

"Blaze, we've got to get Silver some help," Marine said.

Blaze looked fearfully at her friend then nodded saying, "Hurry." She looked after the villains then added as an afterthought, "The Council of Four is to reunite soon? Sonic, Manic, and Sonia have to hear this."


	22. Team Vile Meets Team Babylon

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Third chapter today. You readers will be sick of me by the time the chapters I need to put up are up. But I guess it's only fair since I man not update on Saturday or Sunday. Hmm, my titles are lacking, for now. Only a few more though for the 'Team Vile meets...' grouping.)

_**Team Vile Meets Team Babylon**_

They watched in shock as the team stumbled in. "Now Team Sol! This is getting worse and worse!" Espio exclaimed in anger and worry on seeing Silver barely conscious and bleeding from a gunshot wound.

"They beat you! How! You have psycho and pyrokinetic abilities!" Sonic yelled. "Not to mention Marine's glowing hand thing!"

"I forgot about that mate," Marine sheepishly said.

"They used a device that zapped our powers. Silver and I still don't have them back," Blaze replied. She drew out the Yellow Sol Emerald though, and said, "But I got this." She tossed it over to them. Wave caught it and looked at it nervously. "It's real," Blaze reassured, then quickly narrated the whole event. Wave nodded then handed it to Knuckles.

"Congratulations, you're guardian of the year," Rouge said with a teasing sparkle in her eyes as Knuckles was admiring the Sol Emerald. Knuckles thought about scowling at her then simply shrugged it off.

Blaze finished, "Sonic, Manic, Sonia, Sleet mentioned that the Council of Four is destined to reunite soon."

"What!" Manic and Sonic exclaimed.

"Really?" Sonia hopefully asked. Blaze nodded. The triplets looked hopefully at one another.

"I thought you said Sleet and Dingo were nothing," Shadow icily said to Sonic.

"They are, or they were! At least that's what we thought!" Sonic said worriedly.

"Man they really _were_ going easy on us back then," Manic said uneasily.

"Apparently so did Fang the Sniper since he's beyond using a cork shooting pop gun now," Shade hissed.

"There's no telling how powerful Team Vile is," Storm lamented.

"Get Silver upstairs, I'll take care of him," Vanilla said.

"I want to help," Blaze said.

Vanilla examined the girl whose eyes threatened tears of fear. "All right, come on," Vanilla said, beckoning. Team Sol helped Silver up the stairs after Vanilla.

"So I guess it's _our_ turn now," Jet said with a mischievous glint.

"Not a chance! They've managed to beat Silver, Blaze, and Marine easily. They took out Team Chaotix _and_ Team Underground together!" Sonic said.

"They never beat us bro. We had them surrounded with only Charmy out of the picture. Sleet just ordered a retreat," Manic said.

"He's right. They almost beat us. Maybe if they'd gone on they might have, but it's unlikely, and Sleet definitely wasn't risking it. He called a retreat. Two teams may have been too much for them," Tikal said.

"That's right. Why else would they go after only Team Sol this time?" Cream asked.

"Maybe we should go with you, Team Rose is ready to join," Amy said.

"Oh please, we can take them," Jet said.

"Jet, maybe now isn't the time to get overconfident," Wave warned.

"Come on, it'll be nothing," Jet replied.

"They've milked the same plan twice with only slight differences. It's probably the only plan they have. If we see an emerald we don't go for it, real or not. If we do we don't stop long enough for a cage to drop on top of us. We focus on them," Jet said.

"It might be their only plan, but then they could have planned for us to think that their only plan was the plan they've used twice," Tails said with a confused expression.

"So many plans," Sonic groaned.

"Planned haphazardness," Omega said.

"Right, like that's even possible," Manic said.

"No, metal boy there means they're planning unpredictability. If that makes sense to anyone, because it doesn't to me," Vector said.

"Either Eggman's finally getting a genius _new_ idea, or Sleet and Fang together have stumbled on a way to deal with all of us that even Eggman hasn't found, or hasn't dared try. Dingo's the icing on the cake with his raw power," Rouge said.

"And unfortunately it's next to impossible to catch onto such irregularity, therefore next to impossible to beat something so abnormal, so all over the place," Shadow said solemnly.

"A group of manic mavericks," Jet said jokingly. "No offense Manic." Manic rolled his eyes with a smile.

"You know what, forget it. We know they're trying to confuse us and lose us; they come up with plans that leave room for leniency if not everything goes exactly as planned, but we're ready for it now. We won't try to fight them, but we might as well scope them out," Wave said.

"Right, we'll be back before you know it," Jet said. "Babylon Rogues, let's ride!" He Wave and Storm instantly raced out.

"Yeah, but will you be back in one piece!" Amy called after them. They ignored her. She sighed deeply.

"Maybe they'll be okay," Sonia offered. Amy smiled uncertainly.

"Idiots," Shadow muttered.

"You'll have your chance soon Shadow," Shade said.

"Maybe then we'll get something done," Rouge bitterly remarked as she shook her head.

The Babylon Rogues watched the streets of the city for any signs of abnormality. "Boss, we've been out here forever. Maybe we should head back?" Storm asked.

"No way, not yet. One more round then we'll call it quits," Jet said.

Wave rolled her eyes then flew up high to take a better look. Suddenly she saw movement. She squinted then gasped. "Jet, over there down that alley!" she called. Jet and Storm instantly looked the direction she was pointing and ran towards the alley after ditching the gear in a safe place. They stopped in front of it looking into it. They saw a bulky figure race around a corner then instantly followed. Wave flew down and Jet took her and Storm's hands pulling them quickly onward.

They rounded the corner only to see the figure disappear into an abandoned warehouse. "Come on!" Jet said racing towards it.

"Like we have a choice with you dragging us along," Wave replied with an affectionate smirk.

The Babylon Rogues burst into the building, Jet calling, "All right, whoever is here, show yourselves!" There was no answer. Team Babylon looked uncertainly at each other.

"Sleet, they're here," Dingo panted as he reached his cohorts.

"Good work luring them in Dingo," Sleet said. "Now let's bring them down."

"I've set the charges," Nack declared proudly. "They're set to go off in five minutes."

"Good, let's get this over with," Sleet said after yawning, bored.

"Jet, this feels like a trap," Wave warned.

"I don't like this," Storm moaned.

"At least two of you are using your brains," a voice spoke. They looked ahead then gasped as Team Vile emerged with wicked smirks on their faces!

"There you three are! You've gone way over the line with hurting our friends! Team Vile, meet Team Babylon! The Babylon Rogues don't lose!" Jet called, smiling at the challenge.

"Pleased to meet ya," Dingo replied.

"You won't be for long!" Storm shot as he barreled towards Dingo.

"That plan was to scope them out, not fight!" Wave yelled at Jet.

"Hey, they came after us!" Jet retorted as he raced towards Sleet.

Fang grinned cruelly at Wave. Wave, outraged at the Weasel thinking he was better than her, angrily shot, "Oh so you're playing that game huh hybrid! Well come on then!" With that she instantly flew at him. He went to meet the attack.

"You know boarders aren't very good at fighting. They spend all their time pulling off fancy tricks and doing races," Sleet taunted Jet.

"You're about to see how wrong you are!" Jet retorted as he began to attack, but Sleet blocked every hit though he had to focus. The bird was proving himself certainly. Finally he managed to land a punch to the Hawk sending him sprawling!

"You're as annoying as Manic, and you look like him too," Sleet taunted.

"Better than you, you mean?" Jet cheekily smiled. Sleet tsked him then simply leapt onto him sending the two rolling. Jet, though, was quickly learning that it was a bad idea for a bird to insult a wolf. He could hardly block every hit. More than once one got through. Desperately he fought back, but Sleet suddenly rose, dragging him up, then threw him against a pile of crates sending them all falling on top of him!

Storm, meanwhile, was having an all-out wrestling match with Dingo. They exchanged blows like nothing, pulled off holds or slams. Each one was getting tired. Dingo, though, finally said, "All right, no more Mr. Nice Guy." With that he charged at him tackling Storm to the ground! Before Storm could react Dingo had lifted him up then forced him viciously into a wall! Storm cried out in pain. Dingo pulled him away from the wall, threw him to the ground, then landed on his back with an elbow leaving the albatross winded and weak. Dingo backed off at that point saying, "If the Council of Four is this easy to defeat in a couple of days, we're set."

Wave, on her Extreme Gear since she'd kept hers, was exchanging attack for attack with Nack, on his 'Marvelous Queen.' She was amazed at the Weasel's ability. "You know you're getting as annoying as Tails and Charmy," she said.

"Oh please, those two are nothing," Nack replied. As if to prove his point he pulled out his pistol and fired. Wave easily dodged, though. She flew around him in circles, him trying to keep up. He caught onto her pattern quickly, though, then flew forward into her path. She gasped but couldn't avoid running into the 'Marvelous Queen' in time. Her hover board struck it sending her flying with a scream to the ground! Fang drew his pistol instantly and cocked it. She shook out of her daze in time to realized what was about to happen. Desperately she jumped out of the way of the bullet with a scream.

Fang checked the time on his bike then gasped. He looked at the other two and called, "Guys…!"

He was cut off, though, when suddenly they heard one explosion. Sleet and Dingo gasped. The building began to crumble. "We've gotta get out of here mates!" Dingo cried, putting the last phase of Plan Babylon into action.

Sleet replied, bringing up the thread of the plan, making them believe he was serious, "No, we need to destroy them! In two days' time the Council of Four will be together again. We can't allow that to happen."

Nack reasoned, "We can't prevent it if we're dead! Come on! The charges are set to blow in five seconds!" Sleet hesitated, but he made up his mind with a mental speed rivaling Sonic's physical. He leapt onto the bike followed by Dingo and they quickly left.

The Babylon Rogues, who had only just regrouped, watched after them in shock of the news and the faceoff they'd lost. Jet then realized they had three seconds! He grabbed their hands and tore towards the exit. Desperately the group dove away from the building with cries of alarm as it exploded!


	23. Team Vile Meets Team Sonic

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Fourth one up today. They start in chapter twenty. At the end of this chapter I'll say early, I couldn't resist bringing at least one of those into the tale. You might know it when you see it. It's something Sonic says. Way too tempting.)

_**Team Vile Meets Team Sonic**_

The Babylon Rogues entered into the house with feathers singed, Storm bent over in pain, Wave limping, and Jet helping her as he rubbed his own head. The others looked up and their eyes widened in shock. "No way," Shade said in disbelief.

"They… they beat us," Jet said in shock.

"What happened!" Sonic demanded.

The Rogues narrated the story as the others listened in incredulity. Jet ended saying, "Manic, Sonia, Sonic, Sleet said that in two days' time the Council of Four would… would reunite, and that they had to stop it before it happened."

Sonia gasped. "Mother… We'll finally see our mother!" she exclaimed happily. She seized her brother's hands and swung them around saying, "We vowed she'd be found and now we've finally got her! Sonic, Manic, we'll be a family again!"

"I can't believe it! After all this time!" Sonic exclaimed with a laugh as tears came to his eyes. He pulled his siblings into a group hug.

Manic, however, said, "Whoa sibs, as much as I'd like to be as enthusiastic as you two are, this is Sleet we're talking about. For all we know he could be lying. Maybe it's a trap."

"Manic Hedgehog…" Sonia began.

"No, listen to him Sonia. He might have something," Espio said.

She and Sonic looked uneasily at each other. Manic continued, "I want to see mom as bad as you two, but why would Sleet say something that important out loud? Why would he tell us when we're supposed to be together again? How would he know?"

"Point taken, but Manic, bro, we can't risk being wrong about this," Sonic said.

"We should at least be careful," Manic replied.

Sonia looked disheartened. Knuckles came up to her placing a hand on her shoulder. Espio shot him a cold look then backed away. "Sonia, don't worry. Someday you'll be together again. If it's when Sleet said, then great, if not, it's a prophecy that has to come true sooner or later. Don't worry." Sonia sniffed then smiled at him. Espio rolled his eyes.

"Jealous much?" Silver whispered to him. Espio scowled at him then surrendered with a deep sigh. Sonic raised a suspicious eyebrow. He looked to Manic who just shook his head signalling to not think on it.

"Bummer Manic," Jet sympathetically said of the possible deceit.

"Man I hope I'm wrong," Manic sighed.

"Meanwhile we should get Cream's mom Vanilla to look after our burns and bruises," Wave said.

"Right, Storm's not looking too good," Jet said jerking his thumb at the albatross.

"I'm fine boss," Storm said. He then gasped in pain.

"Sure you are," Wave sarcastically said.

Vanilla shook her head then beckoned them to follow saying, "Looks like I've been appointed the resident nurse."

After they left Sonic turned to his siblings saying, "I'm going to get some answers."

"You're going after Team Vile alone!" Sonia demanded.

"Not alone, Team Sonic is backing him up all the way," Tails said confidently.

"Right, it's time to show those three what they're up against," Knuckles said pounding his fists together.

"Maybe we should go with you," Manic said worriedly.

"Not a chance! You two have already been hurt," Sonic said. "I can't be bothered worrying about you."

"Ouch, that hurts bro," Manic said.

"He's right though. You're his weaknesses. Taking you along at this point would be asking for trouble. Wait until you're completely healed," Tikal said.

"I guess we have to," Sonia sighed.

"Let's go then," Sonic said.

"Be careful Knuckles," Shade suddenly said in obvious worry. Knuckles froze then looked back grinning nervously with a blush. Desperately he tried to hide it, for all the good that did. Sonic seized his wrist, shaking his head bitterly on seeing the hurt expression on Sonia's face, then dragged him and Tails along. Espio smirked on seeing how Sonia took Knuckles' blush.

Team Sonic took off out of the city. "Do we even know where we're going Sonic?" Tails questioned.

"No, but I figure Team Vile will find us eventually if they're looking," Sonic replied with a grin.

"Oh joy. Then we can teach them a thing or two about hurting our friends," Knuckles growled. All of a sudden he cried out in pain and fell to the side knocking Tails down. He gasped clutching his side.

"Knux!" Sonic exclaimed. Tails gasped and scrambled from under him. He saw Knuckles' body vibrating as if he were being electrocuted!

"Sonic! It's electricity!" Tails exclaimed. He moved forward, but suddenly he was stopped in place. He gasped and looked down. It was white goo! "Sonic, I can't move!" Tails cried. Sonic tried to move, but he found he couldn't either!

Knuckles was suddenly covered by the goo, and only then did the voltage stop. Gasping, panting, he said, "It's that stuff Sleet and Dingo used once a long time ago. Remember?"

"I remember," Sonic replied. "They used a surprise attack! How are we supposed to be ready for a surprise attack!"

"We should have guessed as much," Tails ruefully said.

"Sonic, I've heard so much about your adventures over the last years yet you walked right into our trap. Typical," Sleet said as he appeared his team behind him.

"Sleet, Dingo, long time no see!" Knuckles yelled angrily as he tried to struggle out of the mess.

"Ah Mr. Knuckles, it _has_ been a while. Have you gotten any smarter?" Sleet asked. Knuckled growled, "I didn't think so," Sleet smirked. "Now, what was that about teaching us a lesson about hurting your friends?"

"Looks to me like _they're_ the pupils, not _us_," Fang taunted.

"Really? What are we teaching mate?" Dingo asked.

Fang slapped his own forehead in disbelief, then forced an annoyed smile, answering, "We're teaching them how not to try and mess with us."

"As soon as we get out of this you're dead!" Knuckles furiously shouted, steadily getting more and more stuck.

"Stop struggling idiot or you'll never get out," Sleet said with a roll of his eyes.

"Listen Sleet meat, I'm not here to fight you," Sonic said. "I just want some answers! What's this about the Council of Four being destined to be together in two days' time! How do you know!"

"Ah yes, you see, the funny thing about oracles is, they're sworn to help anyone who asks," Sleet replied with a malicious grin.

"The Oracle of Delphius… What did you do to him!" Sonic demanded.

"You really are an idiot, aren't you?" Nack intervened. "Now Team Vile students, the lesson for today is, Oracle's can't be killed!" he taunted.

"You really thought he was in danger that one time you told us about when you and your siblings tried to help him? I thought you were kidding," Tails said to Sonic. Sonic grinned sheepishly. Tails sighed.

"What are you planning to do to us!" Knuckles demanded, still trying to break free.

"We weren't planning anything, actually," Sleet replied.

"Too bad your plans will have to change," Sonic declared. Tails suddenly pulled out a power up and tossed it to Sonic. "All right!" Sonic exclaimed. He began spinning then burst from the glue. He turned back, tearing through Knuckles and Tails' glue bonds both. All three stood free in seconds. Sonic grinned evilly at Sleet then went in for the attack. Knuckles raced at Dingo while Tails flew towards Fang.

Sleet drew something from behind him without batting an eye. Sonic rammed right into it and was sent flying back, crying out in pain. He landed then sat up saying, "What, no way! That powered up attack tears through anything!"

"Funny, I don't even see a scratch let alone a dent," Sleet taunted as he looked at the shield. Sonic leapt up and tried again.

Tails began kicking at Fang from the sky. Fang flew away from him as if running. Tails gave pursuit. Fang dodged behind a rock, Tails followed. "Huh?" he asked, for he saw no one there.

"Hey fox, up here!" a voice called. Tails gasped and looked up just as a rock tumbled down towards him! He cried out in alarm but couldn't move fast enough to avoid being pinned under it.

He cried out in pain, sobbed, then cried, "Sonic, Knuckles, help!"

"Tails!" Sonic called.

"I've got him!" Knuckles shouted as he landed another blow on Dingo that sent him flying back. Knuckles instantly raced towards the rock pinning his friend. He jumped at it breaking through like nothing. Tails weakly staggered up.

"Thanks Knuckles," he said.

"No problem," Knuckles replied.

Just then Sonic soared backwards into them with a cry of alarm. They all fell. Knuckles and Tails shoved him off. Sonic shot up in shock. "Did you see that!" he demanded.

"What!" Tails asked.

"Sleet just tossed me like a week old chili dog!" Sonic retorted furiously.

"How!" Knuckles asked.

Sonic looked back at Team Vile. They had regrouped. They were looking maliciously back at Team Sonic, then all at once they took off, not bothering to finish the job. They watched them disappear. Sonic sighed then answered Knuckles saying, "By not holding anything back. When Sonia and Manic said he was going easy on us before… I never expected them to be going _that_ easy. If they had fought us _then_ like they do _now_… well I wouldn't be here talking to you two. Let's go."

"Great, now _we're_ the ones coming back battered and bruised," Knuckles wryly said with a smile.

"Shadow will never let me live it down," Sonic moaned.

"At least not until they beat Team Dark too," Tails said sadly.

"Fat chance of that," Sonic laughed.

"Sonic, they've bested all of us! They're hardly the worse for wear! Either something's wrong with us or they're just that good!" Tails exclaimed.

"It's some trick, it's got to be!" Sonic retorted. With that he took their wrists and ran back towards the house.

"We beat Sonic!" Dingo exclaimed in shock.

"We _bested_ Sonic," Sleet corrected.

"Looks like your subconscious scheme is working," Nack said with a smile as he tilted his hat back.

"Let's just hope my scheme to best Team Dark works in sync with it," Sleet said.

"No way can it fail," Nack casually said.

Sleet was about to tell him off again about being overconfident, but he stopped himself and replied, "How right you are."


	24. Team Vile Meets Team Dark

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: After this there is, I think, one more to go.)

_**Team Vile Meets Team Dark**_

Team Sonic burst through the doors. They saw the absolute shock on their friends' faces. "Sonic!" Manic and Sonia exclaimed.

"Don't say a word!" Sonic ordered sharply. He turned to face Shadow and added, "Especially not you!"

"Pathetic," Shadow defiantly said with a smirk.

"All right wise guy, you're up," Sonic said. "Take your team and go face Team Vile, I dare you! They've probably spent a long time planning a way to best _you_ three too!" Sonic shot.

"If you insist," Shadow replied. He looked back at a still surprised Rouge and a seemingly puzzled Omega. "Rouge, Omega, we're up. Let's show these amateurs how it's really done."

"Affirmative," Omega replied starting towards Shadow.

Rouge went to them without a word, but as soon as she caught up she said, "I don't like this Shadow. Something's up. I'm getting a bad feeling."

She saw a flash of hesitancy, but Shadow quickly shrugged it off saying, "It'll be fine. If, and that's a big if, something goes wrong, I'll just Chaos Control us all out of there."

"Good luck with Fail, Sleaze, and Dingbat, Shadow," Sonic tauntingly called, angry at him. Shadow smirked, took Rouge's hand and Omega's wrist, then zoomed off.

"A power plant Sleet?" Dingo asked.

"Why not? It's perfect. If it's destroyed in the process it will just be all the better of a distraction," Sleet replied.

"What makes you so sure it'll be Team Dark that comes?" Nack asked.

"We just bested Sonic. Shadow is his rival. He won't be able to resist taking a poke at Sonic. Sonic will walk right into it and dare him to try it themselves. A challenge being laid, Shadow won't be able to resist. Plan Dark is in action," Sleet replied.

"All right, we can't mess this up. One false step could spell the end of us," Nack declared.

"No problem mate," Dingo said.

"Coming from _you_? Oh how reassuring," Sleet sarcastically said to Dingo.

"Sleet, you do have confidence in me!" Dingo happily said.

Sleet scowled then pasted on a false smile saying, "Oh of course Dingo. You've failed me so many times I finally realized how useful you were!"

"Thanks mate," Dingo said.

Nack slapped his own forehead then shook his head at Sleet. "Right, let's get this over with then," Nack said. He pressed a button and just outside the main building an explosion went off!

"Do we know where they are Omega?" Shadow asked.

"Sensors are not picking up any Team Vile information," Omega replied.

"Keep searching. They're somewhere," Rouge said. All of a sudden, in the distance, they heard and explosion and saw a mushroom cloud rising! "See, what did I tell you?" she said.

"Let's go," Shadow said quickly racing off, the others in tow.

They reached the plant in seconds and burst through the main doors. "All right, we know you're in here! Come out and face true chaos!" Shadow ordered.

"Whatever you say Sonic, oops, I mean Shadow," Sleet's voice taunted. Shadow, Rouge and Omega gasped as suddenly, from every direction, multiple figures of Sleet, Dingo, and Nack appeared!

"Well this was unexpected," Rouge said in shock.

"Sensors picking up mixed data. Cannot isolate true Team Vile. Sensors being overwhelmed. Abort trying to find subjects Sleet the Wolf, Fang the Sniper aka Nack the Weasel, and Dingo. Must destroy every life form," Omega rattled.

On hearing the robots uncertainty, Rouge and Shadow shot glances at each other, Shadow's neutral, Rouge's worried. "We'll get them," Shadow assured her. "Come out and face us cowards! Face us hand to hand!"

"Better a live coward than a dead brave," Nack replied from their multiple positions in the air, on the roof, on beams, or on the ground.

"Do we get them now Sleet?" Dingo eagerly asked from all the positions he was.

"Why not? What can _they_ do to stop us?" Sleet asked. With that he laughed. All at once the figures of Team Vile began racing around doing their own thing.

Only Team Vile knew where each other was. Nack was using his tail as a spring to jump from beam to beam, from ground to roof, shooting his pistols as often as he dared. Dingo was charging through the masses of the clones attacking whenever he could. More than once Omega had felt his power bat him around. Sleet walked around the outskirts of the masses looking for an opening to get to Shadow.

The mega clones continued to attack Team Dark who desperately attacked back, but for each clone they destroyed, more seemed to appear, and when the clones struck they hurt. Rouge gasped as another bolt of electricity shot through her from behind. Enraged, she whirled and attacked a Fang.

Omega let out a circle of gunfire, but the weapons seemed to do nothing to the clones, for they just laughed then swarmed him again shocking the robot, draining his power supply steadily. "Leave him!" Shadow ordered as he summoned Chaos Spear to obliterate a group of Dingo clones surrounding his friend. That cost him, though, for all at once he was swarmed by a gang of Sleet clones striking from everywhere. There was no way to tell which was real and which was fake!

Rouge was suddenly next to him. "Shadow we need to get out of here! We're being beaten by clones! The shocks are taking their toll on all of us, especially Omega!"

"No, we stay!" Shadow firmly said.

"Don't you see they're toying with us! If we don't get out of here the real Team Vile will find an opportunity to take us all out!" Rouge tried to reason.

She suddenly screamed in pain. "Rouge!" Shadow cried seizing her as she fell.

"Now that was real," Rouge gasped, clinging to him. He saw blood on her wing. Fang had met his mark. From his place on a beam the weasel maliciously grinned.

Shadow hesitated then ordered, "Get yourself and Omega out of here! I'll finish them."

"Shadow, no!" Rouge said as she destroyed another clone. "We leave together!"

"Go Rouge!" Shadow ordered.

"What are you planning!" she demanded.

He looked solemnly at her then replied, "A one way Chaos Control trip into outer space."

On hearing this Sleet gasped then shot, "Oh no you're not!"

"Watch me!" Shadow retorted. "Go Rouge!" Rouge was no fool. She sensed something was off, but she knew she had to leave and get Omega to safety. She hesitantly backed away. "Go!" he ordered. Rouge, though reluctant, turned and ran. She scooped a barely functioning Omega up and soared from a window.

"Team Vile, retreat!" Sleet ordered.

Nack didn't need to be told twice. He jumped on his bike, flew down at the real Dingo, though Shadow still couldn't pinpoint the real groups since some clones had copied the movement, scooped Dingo up, then went for Sleet. "Not me idiot! I'm finishing one more thing!" Sleet shot.

"You're crazy!" Dingo and Fang shot back.

"Get out of here!" Sleet ordered from all directions. Fang and Dingo looked hesitantly at each other but obeyed.

"Chaos…" Shadow began.

"You're not even at full power hedgehog. You can't make it to space," Sleet said.

Shadow smirked. "…blast!" he finished. That wasn't expected. Sleet gasped, cried out in alarm, then dove behind the strongest support he could find. The blast tore through the factory completely obliterating every clone there was. The factory began to come down on them.

Shadow looked around for any sign of Sleet. Seeing none he smirked then raced for the door. Suddenly, though, a metal beam came from nowhere striking him like a ball! Shadow cried out in pain flying back. His head was swimming. He heard blood pulsing in his temples. "Sweet dreams ultimate life form," Sleet sarcastically said. Shadow tried to find him but saw nothing. All at once his world went dark to the evil laughter of the wolf.

The factory was collapsing! He'd used Chaos blast! What was he thinking! "Shadow!" Rouge cried, calling for her friend. No one was coming out! Where was he! She suddenly saw movement out the corner of her eye. Team Vile was flying away, all three! How had Sleet gotten out and Shadow not! She knew that Fang and Dingo had left almost right after her. She hadn't gone for them because of Omega. "Shadow!" she screamed again as she ran then flew towards the collapsing factory. However, a heavy piece fell towards her forcing her to gasp then hit the ground at a breakneck speed. She covered her head as debris rained down. After what seemed forever the rumble of a collapsing building stopped.

She finally raised her head. She looked back then turned around as she rose. The whole power plant was down, and there was no Shadow. "No… not again," she silently begged feeling tears threatening her eyes. "Shadow!" she screamed again. She flew at the rubble then began to desperately dig through it. She called his name over and over again hoping for a reply. Finally she stopped to catch her breath, gasping, panting his name. All at once, to the side, an arm punched through the rubble. She cried out, at first alarmed, but on seeing the rings on the wrist she exclaimed, "Shadow!" She raced over to the area, flying above it so as not to crush her friend, then began digging. In a moment Shadow leapt from the rubble, fire burning in his red eyes.

"Where-is-Sleet?" he asked slowly, venomously.

"You're alive!" Rouge cried, launching herself into his arms, ignoring his question. He was startled. He looked down at her in shock. She let the tears come. After a long moment he finally put his arms awkwardly around her and rubbed her back trying to comfort her.

Gaining control of his temper he asked again, icily, "Where is Sleet?"

"They got away," Rouge replied, reluctant to let go. Finally, though, she pulled back, eyes dry.

"How's Omega?" Shadow asked.

"He needs some recharging," Rouge replied.

"When we get to the mansion he can recharge," Shadow said with a nod. "Let's go."

"Aren't you worried about what Sonic will say?" Rouge asked teasing him, worries calmed.

Shadow hesitated then replied, "We'll see how it plays out."

Team Dark entered the living room only to see all their friends up. Silver was bandaged up, the others treated, and Charmy was curling tiredly into Vector, yet he was awake. "Well, well, well, the ultimate life form was beaten by the most unlikely trio this side of the universe," Sonic said with a victorious smirk. It fell, though, when he saw the shape Omega was in, the dried blood on Rouge's wing, and the debris still covering his rival.

"Rouge!" Knuckles gasped in horror. He instantly ran to her and took her arm, turning her so he could inspect her wing. Sonia cringed. Shade icily watched, eyes burning. She kept insisting to herself that she wasn't jealous. Rouge had rolled her eyes affectionately, but on seeing this display of jealousy from the other girls she decided to push it and put her arms around Knuckles who blushed. Shadow shook his head coldly, arms crossed.

"Whoa they really let you have it Shadow man," Manic said.

"What happened? How did they beat _you_!" Shade asked in disbelief.

"You're Team Dark! Is it even _possible_ to beat you!" Amy asked.

"Apparently," Rouge sarcastically replied through gritted teeth. Reluctantly they narrated the tale briefly as Knuckles let her go.

"Looks like I have a fresh batch of injuries to heal," Vanilla sighed.

"We know the drill," Rouge sulked as she led the humiliated trio.

"They beat Team Dark…" Big said in shock. The others were just as surprised.

"They out_smarted_ Team Dark. This is bad; so, so bad," Silver said.

"Look, no one else goes after them until tomorrow. We should all let ourselves heal," Sonic declared.

"Yeah, tomorrow," Amy dazedly repeated. With that the groups retired.


	25. Team Vile Meets Team Rose

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Last one for today. Way more than I usually dare to put up. It's really weird. Anyway reviews from those who have reviewed or will review are very much appreciated. Enjoy.)

_**Team Vile Meets Team Rose**_

Marine, Charmy, Cream, and now Tails since Cream had dragged him from his workshop into the yard, were playing a game of tag with each other. Vector and Vanilla watched. Shade, Knuckles, and Tikal were practicing fighting and talking of the Master Emerald. Sonia, Manic, and Sonic were in the city fully realizing that they were all together again. Espio and Silver were on the roof sparring. Big and Storm fished in a creek nearby. Wave, Blaze, and Rouge were working, or rather watching Wave work, on some Extreme Gear. Jet and Shadow were sitting inside watching television. Omega was still recharging. Amy would have been with the girls, but she decided to watch the kids' game instead.

As the children raced around Vanilla looked over at Vector. He seemed tired, not at all like how the Crocodile was supposed to act. She saw him watching Charmy protectively. Suddenly realization came to her eyes. A realization that made her iris' light up curiously and her mouth open in disbelief. She grinned affectionately at him. Just then he noticed. He pulled back. Why was this broad looking at him like that? He blushed, then asked, "V-Vanilla, what is it? Why are you looking at me like that? Do I smell?"

She laughed. He blushed more. She finally replied, playing on a hunch, "No, not at all. I just find it sweet how you've taken it upon yourself to be a father figure to Charmy as well as his best friend. You love him like a son, or so it seems to _me_. I mean you carried him all the way back here when he was hurt and watched my every move as I was fixing him. You let him nap curled up to you, and you haven't taken your eyes off of him, especially since he still is shaken. It's so charming."

"Really? I mean you think I'm sweet?" Vector asked. He heard Charmy cry out and sharply turned. The bee had tripped. Marine raced to him to help him up. Seeing he was all right Vector felt himself relax. Whoa, he realized. Vanilla had a point. He'd never actually seen Charmy as a son, more a friend or brother, but looking back he saw what she meant. They would fight and argue, but when it was all said and done he _did_ treat that annoying little bee like his own. He _did_, dare he admit it,ugh, love him. A son? The revelation was startling, unnerving, but he liked it. The feeling it awakened made him feel warm inside. He looked at Vanilla's approving gaze. That served to make the feeling grow. He felt pleased with himself then leaned back putting his arm around her back. She didn't seem to mind at all. In fact she leaned into him.

Vanilla looked at her watch then said, "Oh my goodness I almost forgot my appointment! I have to rush off Vector. Watch those kids." She leapt up like a bullet then ran towards the front yard. Appointment? Vector wondered. Bah, women and their appointments. He leaned back on the bench and promptly fell asleep.

Vanilla came around the front of the house humming. Suddenly, though, a hand from behind clamped over her mouth and she was lifted from the ground! She tried to scream and fight, but before she could comprehend the situation she found herself in the air. It was then that she saw her attackers. She managed to pry the big hand off of her mouth and look back in terror. She screamed in fear. Dingo grinned icily at her. She looked to the front and saw Fang smirking, but the one who held her attention was the wolf behind Dingo. "You!" she cried in alarm. His cruel smile fell to a scowl.

Cream heard the scream. She gasped then turned exclaiming, "Mother?"

Amy was the only one who heard. She looked up at the rabbit frowning. "Cream, what is it?" she asked.

Just then Shade came out drinking water. Seeing Amy and Cream's curious looks she said simply, "Knuckles finally got too worried about the master emerald. He couldn't focus, so Tikal and I dismissed him to go check on it." It was then she noticed Cream's worried expression and Amy's suspicious gaze on the little bunny girl. "Care to fill me in?" she questioned.

Cream looked up at them saying, "I thought I heard mommy scream."

Amy and Shade gasped then looked at each other. "We'd better check it out," Shade said.

"I heard her mention an appointment, then she went to the front," Amy said standing up. "Come on girls, time to step in."

Cream looked at the bow fearfully. "I wasn't hearing things! Mom's gone! Someone took her! Amy, Shade, we have to do something!"

"Three guesses as to who's behind this!" Shade angrily said.

"Sleet, Dingo, and Nack," Amy angrily agreed as she picked up a flower from the ground. "Hmm, this is only found in the jungle. Looks like we know where they might be going. Come on." Team Rose instantly took off for the jungle.

Vector snorted awake to someone shaking him. "Whazzat… who's there… come on I'll take you all on!" he exclaimed jolting awake. "Who, what, when, where, why, how?" he stammered; then he saw Charmy. "Charmy, what's the big idea!" Vector angrily demanded. The anger faded, though, when he saw Charmy's worried expression.

"Vector, sis, I mean Cream, left with Team Rose just now. I think something's happened to Ms. Vanilla because they kept mentioning her. I heard because I did what you always taught me and shadowed them because they looked worried! Anyway now I'm worried, and Tails is worried, and Marine's worried, and everyone! I think we should go after them before we lose them!" he said almost too fast for the Crocodile to catch. He did hear, however, the words: Vanilla, you always taught me, shadowed, something happened, worried, everyone, and follow.

"What! This can't be good. Espio, get down here!" Vector shouted. Espio looked down from battling Silver. "We have a mission!" Vector continued. Espio raised a curious eyebrow but climbed down nonetheless.

Shade lead the way, cutting through thick foliage and boulders blocking their way. Amy looked cautiously around. Cream looked terrified. After a time Shade finally stopped, Amy then Cream running into her. She scowled back at them. "Why did you stop?" Amy asked. Shade put a finger to her lips then pointed. Amy and Cream instantly leaned in to check.

Cream gasped then said, "That must be where they're keeping mother!"

"Keep quiet, maybe we can sneak up on them," Amy said.

"I've got it covered," Shade smiled. "Follow my lead, again." She slid on her helmet then stealthily made her way towards the hidden hideaway. They reached a window. Shade looked inside. Her eyes widened on finding Cream's mother bound to a chair sleeping fitfully. She silently slid up the window then swiftly entered, Amy and Cream right behind her.

Cream gasped on seeing Vanilla. "Mommy!" she exclaimed.

Shade covered her mouth hissing, "Shh, they could be anywhere!"

"Or they could be everywhere," A voice spoke from behind. The girls gasped then whirled to see thirty images, ten Sleet's, ten Nack's, and ten Dingo's! The clones spread instantly out. Vanilla woke up just then. On seeing her daughter she tried to scream through the gag, but they barely heard.

They turned hopefully to her, but the hope was dashed when Fang said, "We've used the clone routine already Sleet, come on. Let's go traditional fighting on this one."

"Yeah Sleet, come on, Team Vile can take Team Rose," Dingo said as he suddenly grabbed Shade from behind lifting her from the ground. "I've got one already."

"No you don't!" Shade shouted as she viciously struggled.

"Oh why not?" Sleet replied to Nack. He pressed a button and all clones instantly disappeared.

"Sleet, I'm losin' her!" Dingo exclaimed.

"I'll say you are!" Amy shot. She suddenly drew her hammer and swung it at Dingo knocking him back and releasing Shade.

"How amateur," Nack taunted. With that he hopped on his bike and roared at Cream. Cream cried out as Fang scooped her up then slammed her into the wall! Vanilla screamed through her gag for her daughter, tears of worry in her eyes, then desperately struggled with her bonds to try and get free.

Sleet lunged at Amy and Shade. Shade prepared to face him head on with Amy. They charged at him, but just as they reached him he jumped over their heads, rolled, then spin kicked tripping them both. Dingo pounced on Shade then slammed her viciously into a rock making her cry out in pain. He pulled her away then smashed her onto the ground. This time she lay still.

Amy desperately leaped up to face Sleet. She swung her hammer but he easily countered it with his wicked looking blade. He then kicked her violently sending her flying into a wall. Amy staggered weakly up to try again. "Hmm, you're a tough one," Sleet said. "No matter." Suddenly he pulled out a laser gun and shot at the roof as Amy ran at him. She looked up in terror and tried the escape, but it fell on top of her. She lay motionless on the ground.

Vanilla looked on in terror, especially for her fallen daughter. "Now that that's taken care of we can focus on the prophecy," Sleet said, dropping the bait.

"You mean like what the oracle said, about how 'tomorrow night, when the moon is full, the Council of Four will reunite in the midst of their enemies and be victorious' etcetera, etcetera?" Nack asked, taking it up.

"What other message did he give?" Dingo asked, genuinely confused. Nack and Sleet looked at him in disbelief then face palmed themselves.

"Team Vile, you're going down!" a voice suddenly called, furious. They whirled around only to see Team Chaotix standing there!

"About time! I was wondering when you'd show up!" Sleet barked. "Vile, retreat!" he ordered. With that he, Fang, and Dingo scampered for Nack's bike then took off before the Chaotix could try anything.

"Vanilla!" Vector exclaimed, rushing to her. He quickly untied and ungagged her.

"Vector, Cream's hurt!" Vanilla exclaimed through tears as she leapt up racing by him.

"What!" Vector roared in outrage. He followed quickly with Charmy.

Espio shook his head then raced over to Shade. He gently shook her saying, "Shade, Shade, come on, wake up." Shade's eyes fluttered open.

"Espio?" she weakly said. He helped her sit up. She cringed adding, "Amy…" Espio gasped on seeing the hedgehog girl's arm sticking out from under a section of roof!

"Amy!" he exclaimed. He raced over to her and moved the debris as quickly and safely as he could. He reached in and dragged Amy out. He lay her down then said, "Amy, Amy, get up!"

Amy's eyes fluttered open. "Espio… Team Vile…"

"They're gone. We're going to help you," Espio reassured. She fell back into unconsciousness.


	26. Swat Bots Return

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: For those of you wondering how I manage to daily update with more even five or six chapters in one day, it's because I write the story down on word first. I wait until I'm close enough to being done to risk daily updates, then I do so. One more chapter to come before I break into the Final Battle chapters. Those might not be up until Monday though since I'm gone all day tomorrow. Feel free to review.)

_**Swat Bot's Return**_

Team Vile returned to the Flying Egg Fortress. "Welcome back Team Vile. Tell me, how is your plan faring?" Eggman questioned on seeing them enter.

They caught the taunting gaze. So he thought it was falling apart huh? The three smirked evilly at each other. Facing him Sleet pulled out an object, handing it to him as Fang replied, "Everything is working perfectly. We even found the hidden Emerald on our way back. Now all we need to do it launch an assault on the other side of the city and the rest of them will congregate to save the land." Eggman took the emerald in shock. "With the improvements we've made to the old Swat bots you guys told me about, it'll be a real threat too," Nack said, this time directing it at Sleet.

"What! Who gave you permission to bring out my swat bots again!" Eggman demanded of the wolf.

"No one," Dingo answered for Sleet. "Sleet just knows how to use them better than any of the others."

"With us working on them they've become stronger, more accurate, harder to destroy, everything they lacked before we've tuned up," Nack boasted.

"Right, they could probably surpass the best of your robots, except the E-series that is," Dingo said.

"Oh really?" Eggman asked, intrigued.

"Yes, no thanks to you they are ready for battle," Sleet said.

"What was that?" Robotnick warned.

"Uh, I mean, they could have been so much better if you had improved them yourself your roundness. We can only hope that they earn your approval!" Sleet quickly covered.

"I never get tired of hearing him smooth talk his way out of things," Nack joked to Dingo.

"It's talking himself into them in the first place he's got to stop doing," Dingo replied.

Nack looked surprised. "Whoa… that was actually smart," he remarked.

"It was!" Dingo exclaimed.

"Don't ruin it," Nack warned. Dingo fell silent shrugging sheepishly.

"All right Sleet, launch the assault," Eggman said.

"Oh my pleasure sir," Sleet replied. Pulling out a communication device he said, "Swat bot battalion one, converge on the edge of the west side of the city." All at once a door flew open. Like clockwork a fleet of about fifty swat bots tramped out. Robotnick gasped on seeing them pass him. They _did_ look good. The same as always, only improvements stood out. They turned to face him. All at once, without words, they flew up then out through the grand room's floor. Eggman watched in awe.

"Will they obey Eggman?" Nack whispered to Sleet. Sleet evilly smirked then shook his head. "Pushing it Sleetmo," Nack warned, using one of Sonic's old names for him. Sleet scowled but looked warily at his old boss who was thrilled at the sight of the leaving swat bots.

"Hey Sleet, with Nack and your improvements won't it be a little too much? I thought we were keeping it easy," Dingo said.

It was Nack that replied for Sleet, saying, "You may be right, but the plan's end is nearing. Soon they'll be in our grasp. We might as well send out this warning that things have stepped up, if only a little."

"What he said," Sleet agreed with an approving nod.

Sonia, Manic, and Sonic were walking through the city laughing and talking. After a time they fell silent. Soon Sonic said, "Man it's great to have you guys back. I'd forgotten what it was like… back then."

"Here, here, and we don't plan on leaving each other any time soon, right guys?" Manic questioned.

"No way, I'd rather die," Sonia firmly, angrily, declared with fire in her eyes.

"Do you think Sleet was on the level when he said the Council of Four will be together again in two days?" Manic hopefully asked.

"I hope so," Sonic replied.

"Yeah, I want to see mother. I miss her so much. I have so many questions I want to ask," Sonia ruefully said.

"We all do sis," Sonic and Manic replied simultaneously.

They laughed and Sonic said, "I've missed that!" They looked up at the roof tops. "Do you think Mom's watching us right now?" Sonic finally asked.

"I hope so," Manic said.

"Ooh, I hate having her so close yet always losing her or not being able to find her!" Sonia said in aggravation.

The moment was broken, though, when suddenly they heard screaming! They gasped then looked up only to see people running in terror. "Whoa, what's up!" Manic asked.

"I don't know, let's check it out!" Sonic said.

Sonia reached out and grabbed a passing pedestrian. "Hey, what's going on?" she demanded.

"Robots, on the west side, at least fifty of them!" the pedestrian panted. Sonia let her go and she ran again.

"Looks like we have some trouble sibs," Sonic said. "Let's rock and roll!" He seized their hands then tore towards the disturbance.

Silver suddenly stood up straight from his slumping position watching Wave, Blaze, and Rouge. Blaze noticed. She turned curiously back and asked, "Silver, what is it?"

Silver gasped then replied, "An attack's been launched on the west side of the city!"

"Are you kidding!" Wave demanded bolting up with the other two.

"No! We've got to get the others!" Silver said swiftly racing out. The girls followed. Silver and Blaze raced towards Marine. She seemed to sense it as she and Tails stopped playing their game of catch. She looked inquisitive.

"Marine, we have to go _now_!" Blaze said. "Tails, gather up Big and Tikal, since Tikal's team is gone and Big has no team, and get to the west side of the city! There's an attack!"

Tails gasped saying, "You're kidding!"

"No, do it!" Silver ordered. With that he grabbed Marine and Blaze's hands. Team Sol was off.

Wave had raced into the house with Rouge. They burst into the living room where Jet and Shadow sat watching TV. By the looks on their faces they guessed it was already all over the news. Shadow looked over at Rouge then said, "Let's go." He raced to Omega pulling him from the recharging station. The robot made confused beeping noises but was quickly realizing something was wrong. Shadow raced to Rouge, took her hand, then said, "Chaos Control!" With that Team Dark disappeared.

Jet looked at Wave in confusion. Wave simply said, "You heard Shadow, let's roll!" Jet nodded then raced out with her.

They saw Tails, Tikal, and Big racing worriedly by. Storm was following, but Jet reached out and yanked him back saying, "Whoa big guy, the Babylon Rogues are going in style!"

"Whatever you say boss," Storm agreed. Team Babylon then raced to their extreme gear, hurrying towards the site.

Team Sonic reached the destination in seconds and slid to a halt gasping. All at once Team Dark was there. "What's happening!" Rouge demanded. It was then that they saw the robots. Rouge gasped.

"Robots not in database. Statistics not known. Sensors indicate high threat level," Omega said.

The other teams soon converged, having been alerted by Silver even before Team Sonic had known. "What are they?" Big asked fearfully.

"Dude, those are swat bots! I thought you said Robozo had put them out of commission!" Manic exclaimed.

The group cried out as blasts began to be fired. They dove out of the way. "He did!" Sonic cried in shock as he rolled to a stop.

Tikal shrieked as a laser nearly struck her. Luckily Shadow dove at her knocking her from its path. Tikal rose quickly saying, "You told us they had bad aim!"

"They did!" the triplets exclaimed at the same time, equally confused.

"Wait, what if they've been improved!" Tails asked quickly.

"Eggman wouldn't have bothered!" Sonic insisted.

"Maybe not Eggman, but what about Fang!" Wave demanded.

Sonic looked about to protest, but then his mouth fell shut. After a second's pondering he replied, "Point taken. He and Sleet could have done it." He cried out in alarm as a bot landed right in front of him then sent him flying back!

"Sonic!" his siblings exclaimed. Sonic leapt up as the same robot attacked again. He tried to break it with his signature move, but he found quickly that this time they were nowhere as weak as they had been.

"We'll get them!" Jet said instantly flying up with the Babylon Rogues. Viciously they began to attack the incoming bots, but they weren't going down without a fight.

The teams and miscellaneous group began to attack full force, desperately battling the robots. However, the sheer numbers of them were proving difficult. It took three hits to take one out with them attacking in between. Sonic Underground soon regrouped, rolling to each other. They stood quickly up. "Tell me your medallions still work, because mine doesn't turn into a guitar laser anymore!" Sonic said.

"Are you kidding! Why would ours work anymore either! Mine turns into a gun if I'm lucky and everything is in perfect condition, and that's next to never!" Sonia replied.

"Try anyway!" Sonic ordered. "We need to see if they resist laser guns now!" Sonia groaned worriedly then tapped the medallion. It instantly turned to the gun as the others watched in shock. She began shooting at them. It didn't take them out in one hit, but two got the job done.

"It takes less attack power at least," Manic said.

"Not good enough if more are coming!" Sonic shot.

Shadow rolled next to them then said, "Chaos Blast!" The energy shot from him striking the robots. Some were obliterated, but others only fell to the ground temporarily stunned! "What did they do to them!" Shadow asked.

"Things are a lot tougher than they should be," Silver worriedly said after attacking with his telekinesis and nearing his fellow hedgehogs.

"Guess it's my turn to step up," Manic said with a devious smirk.

Sonia and Manic looked at him in shock. "You mean your medallion works as good as ever!" Sonia demanded.

"Watch," Manic simply replied. He raced towards the enemies, coming to a stop beside Tikal. He winked at her then touched the medallion. Instantly drums appeared. "Oh yeah, Manic the Earth shaker is back!" he exclaimed. He began to drum furiously. The others, sensing something big was about to happen, backed away, behind him.

"Whoa man, what are you doing!" Jet asked as the ground began to move. Manic chuckled. They watched in shock as the ground began to quake and split!

"He has control over the earthquakes!" Rouge demanded.

"Unbelievable…" Blaze said in awe.

"Impressive," Wave said, eyes lighting up in admiration and thought. She liked this very much. Tikal frowned at her. Jet raised an eyebrow.

The swat bots, taken off guard, fell into the split in the ground, or many of them did. Others, however, caught the danger then rattled, "Retreat back to Flying Egg Fortress." They began to fly and head towards the Fortress. The teams watched after them angrily. Manic pulled back his drums.

"Good riddance," Marine harrumphed.

Sonic and Sonia looked accusingly at Manic. "What?" he innocently asked.

"How is it that _your_ medallion works when Sonic's is useless for anything but tracking us and _mine_ malfunctions most of the time?" Sonia asked.

"I don't know," Manic shrugged.

"The oracle _did_ say it was the most powerful one," Sonic offered enviously.

"Jealous bro?" Manic teased.

"Hey, _I_ don't even need it anymore," Sonic replied.

"What's that supposed to mean!" Manic demanded.

"Enough, we need to get back to the meeting place!" Shadow intervened before sibling rivalry got out of hand.

Silver gasped then cried, "The Chaos and Sol Emeralds! We left them unguarded!" The others gasped at this realization.

"No! Another distraction!" Sonic exclaimed furiously.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow yelled instantly transporting all of them back to the hideout.

Tikal raced into the safe's room with Blaze. They heard the two girls scream. Their hearts sunk. They sensed what that meant. Blaze and Tikal raced back out saying, "They're gone!"

Nack had watched as the groups left the mansion. He chuckled coldly to himself then rode the 'Marvelous Queen' onto a balcony. He leapt off then race inside. He had to get in and out quickly. No telling how long they would be, though he was banking on at least ten minutes. The bots weren't weak like before. He pulled out an Emerald detector Eggman had given him and followed the signals. In seconds he found their hiding place. He examined the sturdy safe. He frowned. Everything was new and up to date. It was built of the strongest material he'd seen on a safe for a long time. He then smirked. No problem. Let's see, he wasn't in the mood to lock pick. He wanted this done quickly. He reached for the tool he needed and drew out the specialized bomb. He chuckled then set it. Pulling back he detonated the bomb. The safe was no match. "Fang you've done it again," he muttered proudly to himself. "Rouge, Babylon Rogues, eat your hearts out." He took the Emeralds then laughed, racing to get away.

He arrived back at the base boasting to Sleet and Dingo, "I'm so good it's criminal! Being this smooth should be outlawed. Oh wait, it is."

"You got them! Bonzer work mate!" Dingo exclaimed.

Sleet took the bag of Emeralds from his friend saying, "Yes, Robotnick will be very pleased with you."

As if on cue Eggman burst in demanding, "Do you have them!"

Team Vile turned to face him. Sleet smirked. He bowed then offered them answering, "Right here your greatness."

Eggman grabbed them. "Excellent," he relished. He laughed evilly then said, "The plan is almost complete! All we need in for them to come here, for the Queen to buy our trap, then I'll have the world with no one left to stop me! Finish them Vile!"

"Gladly," the three said villainously.


	27. Idling Time

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: This focuses on just simple scenes to pass their time after Team Rose and Team Chaotix return. One love triangle is addressed here too, as well as some thoughts going through Aleena's head. Enjoy.)

_**Idling Time Before The Final Battle**_

The group stood there defeated. They didn't know what to do. Suddenly the door flew open and Team Chaotix and Team Rose walked in with Vanilla. On seeing Amy nursing a bad bump on her head, as well as limping and covered in cuts and bruises, Sonic gasped. "Amy, what happened!" he demanded as he raced to them.

"Cream, are you okay!" Tails fearfully asked as he rushed to his friend.

"I'm fine Tails," Cream reassured with a smile.

"Vanilla was kidnapped so we went to save her. Team Vile beat us just like he beat Team Dark, Team Sonic, Team Sol, and every other team before us! Never mind that though! Sonic, Manic, Sonia, there's something you have to know!" Amy declared quickly.

"Is it about mother!" Sonia instantly asked.

"You bet your sweet medallions it is!" Vector said.

"They said, and I quote, 'tomorrow night, when the moon is full, the Council of Four will reunite in the midst of their enemies and be victorious!'" Shade stated.

The triplets gasped. "Really!" they demanded at once.

"This isn't something we can lie about," Espio said, excitement for his friends growing.

"It's almost time! I can't wait!" Charmy squealed.

"I can't believe it! It's so close! We'll be with mother again! We'll finally meet our mom face to face!" Sonic said, throwing his arms over his sibling's shoulders and pulling them to him.

"This is almost too good to be true," Manic said, tears in his eyes. The triplets looked out the window. Manic continued, "Mom, if you can hear us we'll be with you soon. You heard what they said. Tomorrow night mom, tomorrow, we'll be reunited as a family."

Aleena sat frozen on the roof, stunned. Her mouth was open in shock. Tears were flooding her eyes. Tomorrow night… Tomorrow night… She suddenly burst into tears, but after all these years there were no tears of sadness, no tears of bitter sweetness, just tears of joy. She began to weep and laugh, her whole body wracking with sobs. Her children! She would finally be with her children again! Oh little Sonic, darling Sonia, baby Manic! She wanted to scream, to jump up and down for joy like a teenager. She wanted to race in and embrace them that second, but she couldn't. Lie in wait, lie in wait, bide your time. There was so little of it left before she would hold them once again. So little time. Nothing would ever tear her from them again apart from death. Never again, never again, never again, never again. Her babies… her sweet little babies.

"So there you are," a voice suddenly said in awe from behind her, breaking the spell. She gasped and nearly screamed as she whirled about. However, on seeing the figure she simply gasped. "Y-your majesty, Aleena," the woman behind her said, tears in her eyes. "It's been years… Do you remember me?"

"Vanilla," Aleena finally said. "How…?"

"I figured you would be nearby, so I put myself in your shoes. The roof was the best bet," Vanilla replied, voice cracking.

Aleena sobbed then rushed to the rabbit hugging her tightly. "Oh my old friend how I've missed you!"

Vanilla began to cry also saying, "It's been so long!"

Aleena suddenly caught her breath though. She pulled quickly back and demanded in terror, "You won't tell them, will you! You can't tell them you've seen me!"

"I won't," Vanilla promised solemnly. "I just had to see if it was really you."

"The children, they didn't hear did they?" she asked, looking around panicked.

"No," Vanilla soothed. "Oh Aleena it's been so long."

"Then let's catch up," Aleena softly agreed as she sat next to her rabbit friend and they began to talk.

"Where's Knuckles?" Rouge asked as the teams sat in the living room.

Shadow shot her a sharp look. "What do we care where he is?" he asked coldly after a moment.

"Well it's not like him to miss out on a fight Shadow. I'm just worried," Rouge said defensively.

"Some things don't change," he muttered.

"I wonder if he's alright," Shade mused, though she knew where he'd gone.

"He's Knuckles, I'm sure he's fine," Sonia said firmly.

"Maybe I should go look for him," Rouge said. Sonia's mouth dropped open and she shot a suspicious look at Rouge. It was then that she noticed Shade's equally cold gaze.

"If you're so worried about Knucklehead I'll find him," Shadow sharply said as he quickly rose.

"Are you sure you should go alone?" Sonia asked.

"I'm sure. Besides, I have an idea where he'll be," Shadow replied. "Before the others could react he went on, "Chaos Control!" With that he was gone, leaving the awkward situation behind.

"What? Why is he so angry?" Rouge asked aloud. Her stomach was fluttering, telling her she knew, but she shrugged it off. They all looked equally confused, except for Omega.

Knuckles heard a noise from behind. He quickly faced the intruder. On seeing the form, then the eyes, he demanded guardedly, "Shadow! What do you want!" Shadow said nothing at first, merely looked at him. "Huh?" Knuckles wondered.

After a moment Shadow closed his eyes. He sighed deeply then opened them again. It was then that he asked a question that had plagued him for as long as he could remember. "Do you love her?"

"What?" Knuckles asked, confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you love her, Rouge?" Shadow clarified. Knuckles was shocked silent. He felt himself blushing and looked hesitantly away. "Well?" Shadow pressed leaving no room for mercy.

"That's none of your business," Knuckles replied, though with little hostility.

"Please," Shadow asked in a slightly desperate voice he instantly hated himself for. "Please, tell me. It won't leave this island. Who could I tell?"

"Rouge," Knuckled simply replied.

"_Why_ would I Knucklehead?" Shadow asked. Knuckles stayed silent. "Knuckles, I need to know," Shadow continued.

Knuckles summed his 'friend' up. With a sigh he finally answered, in a cold yet understanding tone, "Rouge is beautiful, smart, sophisticated, stubborn, strong, a good treasure hunter, and so much more. She gets on my nerves, crawls under my skin, she always walks me right into her passes and they always surprise me. They always leave me blushing, and I like it. If anything ever happened to her… If she died, I would be devastated. So yes… Yes, I love her."

Shadow looked down bitterly, nodded, turned, then prepared to run off. He was down the steps when Knuckles called, "But Shadow, that's not the question you should be asking!" Shadow stopped. He soon turned curiously. "Come here!" Knuckles called. Shadow obeyed after a moment of debate. When he was in front of the echidna once more, Knuckles said, "Do I love her enough to give up even the Master Emerald, that's the question you should have asked." Shadow looked vaguely surprised. Knuckles continued, "The answer to that… is no."

Shadow was intrigued. "I love her more than life itself. I'd give mine up for her in a heartbeat if I had to, but not the Master Emerald. Never the Emerald." Shadow looked slightly chagrined at this. Knuckles smirked at the expression then grew dead serious once more. "I would rather let both of us die than give up the Emerald, and a girl deserves more than that from a lover, a husband… So until I find a girl whom I would willingly give up the Master Emerald for without thought, I will never admit to true love, never marry." He turned to face the Emerald saying, "I love her enough that I won't give her up or let her go, but not enough to surrender this. I will fight any other man who tries to get her. If in time I fall deeply enough for her… we'll see, but it's unlikely. If you want her, she's yours Shadow, if that is what your true motive is; though you yourself don't realize it. Since Maria… You know how you are. But Shadow, don't give up your chance at happiness."

Shadow watched him a moment silently. Knuckles looked tired, uneasy. After a moment Shadow nodded then turned to run off. He looked back once more saying, "Thank you for clearing that up." He started away, but at the base of the steps he stopped and looked back calling, "Get back to the house by tomorrow night. Team Rose was beaten pretty badly, and we need to make sure they're ready to face Eggman tomorrow night!"

Knuckled whirled saying, "Wait, Team Rose? Shade, Amy, and Cream!"

"Who else?" Shadow asked with a smirk.

"Is Shade… are they okay!" Knuckles demanded.

"Shade wasn't in good shape, but who am I to explain it? See for yourself," Shadow replied.

Knuckles hesitated a moment then replied, "Chaos Control us out of here."

"I thought as much," Shadow said with a chuckle.

Morning found the teams up and practicing determinedly for the final faceoff. Sonic, Sonia, and Manic fought like never before, determination taking over all their senses. Sonia broke another piece of wood Espio had held up as a shield. "You're good; ninja material," he complimented.

"Thanks," she said with a smile as she went on the attack again.

"Your mother… I bet you got your skills from her," he said gently.

She paused then replied, "Yeah… I'm so nervous…"

"Everything will be fine," Espio said as he attacked. She blocked with a gasp then grinned at him.

"Sonikku, are you sure you're up for this?" Amy asked as she swung her hammer at him.

"I can take anything _you_ have to dish out," he replied.

"You know what I mean," she said.

Sonic sighed as she paused. He then replied, "If not now then when?" She bit her lower lip then nodded.

"You must be excited Manic," Tikal said as she dodged his attacks and blocked them.

"I am, but I can't help but worry. What if this is another trap?" he asked.

"Everything will work out," Tikal assured.

"I hope you're right," he replied.

Sleet stood looking out the window, arms folded. "Hey Sleet, everything's ready for tonight," Dingo said, as he and Nack walked up behind their leader.

"Hmm, oh, yes," Sleet replied distractedly.

"What is it?" Nack asked, curious as to his friend's behavior.

"It's not just the triplets he has problems with. He has some major issues with Queen Aleena herself," Dingo answered.

"Just thinking, and hoping everything goes according to plan," Sleet answered, replying to the weasel's question as he looked coldly at Dingo and chose not to address the dingo's answer to their friend.

"It can't fail," Fang said.

"I'm sure," Sleet sarcastically replied.

"Oh Sleet," Eggman called suddenly in a sing song voice. The trio turned to face their boss. "There's someone who'd like to meet you," Eggman continued. With that he stepped to the side.

Team Vile gasped on seeing the figure of a blue hedgehog standing there, head bowed. Suddenly it looked up at them, eyes glowing red. "Metal Sonic!" the trio exclaimed, Sleet relishing the sight, Dingo fearful, Nack in disbelief.

"Metal Sonic ready for duty. Mission, destroy Council of Four. Members, Sonic the Hedgehog, Sonia the Hedgehog, Manic the Hedgehog, Queen Aleena the Hedgehog. Failure is unacceptable. Destroy all who oppose Dr. Eggman. Show no mercy," the robot recited. Suddenly he began to shake. All at once he appeared in front of Team Vile! Dingo jumped back crying out in terror. Nack gasped taking a step back. Sleet, though, remained unmoving, boldly facing it.

"Ah Metal Sonic, you will obey my orders. You will listen to my every direction. You are not to move until I say so. Do you understand?" Sleet firmly demanded of the robot.

"Subject Sleet the Wolf. Lieutenant General to Master Eggman. Must obey. Obliterate royal hedgehog triplets and mother Queen Aleena," Metal Sonic declared.

"Yes, Aleena… wonderful. Let's get you and the E-100's prepared then. The hedgehogs and company will be here soon," Sleet said. "Prepare to feel power like never before metal head."

"Hey Sleet, you sounded like Sonic. You know, metal head, what he used to call robots," Dingo said. Sleet growled at his teammate. Dingo nervously backed away.


	28. The Final Battle: Arrival

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: The first installment of the Final Battle Saga. The first few parts aren't focused on the major battles yet, so though there are battle scenes they won't be the ones I've focused on. Some couples, you'll know what I mean, are addressed in these last few chapters that some may not like, or may hate. I'm betting, though, that most haven't even thought about them. The main example is a pairing probably only I've thought of trying out though, so give it a chance. Despite your feelings on them you must read through the whole saga to get where I'm going with them. The prime example I will explain in an author's note at the end of the chapter. However, readers must read through. Forgive the minor battle scenes that I start with. The major ones may not be added until a bit later because I'm seeking help for it. Most of you are expecting a lot from the battle scenes, and I'm not sure I can deliver on my own. They may be delayed until the end of the day, or even tomorrow. Enjoy.)

_**The Final Battle: Arrival (read author's note)  
**_

The Teams gathered in the yard early the next morning. They looked solemnly up at the sky, then at the triplets who led them. "So where do we look?" Knuckles asked Sonic.

"Anywhere," Sonic replied.

All at once they heard a sound coming towards them. The giant Flying Egg Fortress came into view. Rouge broke the awed silence saying, "_He_ found _us_."

"Are we ready for this sibs?" Manic asked.

"It's now or never bro," Sonia replied.

"Then let's go," Shadow declared.

"Eggman's going down," Silver chimed.

Instantly the flying members of each team grabbed their partners and took off for the fortress determinedly. Almost instantaneously lasers began being fired and Egg Flappers began converging to meet the groups. Expertly they dodged the lasers and missiles and robots, more than once nearly getting hit. Silver and Blaze began using their attacks to deter the offending squadron. Shadow joined in with his own attacks along with Omega.

Espio looked to Vector saying, "Climb up here and take Charmy's ankles."

"What are you planning Espio?" Vector demanded. The chameleon merely smirked. Vector sighed but obeyed. As soon as Vector was safe Espio let go. "Espio, what the heck!" Vector shouted after him. Sonia gasped on hearing this and looked back. Espio landed on an Egg Flapper then plunged a blade into it. As it spiraled out of control he leapt to another then another. All fell. Finally he made a desperate leap for Vector, seizing his ankles once more.

"Wow," Sonia said, impressed. Espio smirked at her. She blushed. Knuckles, on seeing this, frowned coldly. This in turn set off a chain reaction of unimpressed responses from every other male and female who disapproved of yet another triangle, Shade, Rouge, Shadow, Tikal, Manic, and on.

They alighted upon the fortress all at once. As quickly as they could with all the attacking threats they found their way inside. As soon as the last one in, Espio, had shut the entrance they'd used, they collectively sighed in relief. That, however, was ruined when the fortress suddenly lurched upwards at an alarming speed.

"Whoa, what's going on!" Manic demanded.

"No…" Shadow said, as if he sensed something off. He instantly used Chaos Control transporting himself outside. He gasped in alarm then instantly went back. Confused at his departure then surprised at his sudden entrance the others looked at him curiously. "They're heading into space!" Shadow exclaimed.

"What!" Tikal gasped.

"When the moon is full…" Sonia mused. She gasped then exclaimed, "The prophecy didn't necessarily at night even though it said tonight, at least it might not have!"

"We could meet mom any second then!" Manic asked, suddenly panicked.

As if on cue they heard a noise, something being bumped. They instantly, guardedly looked in the general direction. It was then that they saw a dark cape disappearing around a far corner. "Mom?" Sonic asked. "Mom, wait! You don't have to run anymore! Mom!"

He tried to race off, his siblings prepared to follow, but Shade suddenly stepped in front of him and pushed him back saying, "Wait Sonic, it might still be too soon. Maybe it's a trap. We should send someone to check it out."

Sonic hesitated, looking ahead. "We can't wait anymore! We have to see her!" Sonia vehemently said.

"Then the prophecy will be broken if you are wrong," Tikal stated, placing a hand on her teammates shoulder.

"But… no…" Sonia said.

Espio felt a pang of pity stab through him. He looked forward then narrowed his eyes determinedly. "I'll go after her and see what's up. I can blend in with surroundings so I won't be caught."

Sonia gasped then looked worried. "Alone, are you crazy!" Sonia demanded. "I don't want you to get hurt."

"I'll go with you," Silver said, before Espio could answer Sonia. Espio hesitated but finally nodded agreement. Sonia looked for support then sighed deeply finding only sympathy.

"If I'm bringing back up then all speed members follow me," Espio declared.

"Are you kidding? Manic and Sonic are still shocked. They couldn't go anyway, and I want to make sure they're okay," Amy declared.

"Right, I'm here for you man," Jet said to Manic. Manic smiled then nodded.

"Then I'll go," Shadow stated. Silver and Espio nodded gratefully to him.

"Let's move out," Espio ordered. Instantly he leapt on a wall and faded from sight, hurrying off. Silver levitated up. When he needed to recharge he would hang from Espio's tail. Shadow stuck to the shadows. The three headed off quickly.

Suddenly, though, Rouge called after them, "Be careful, please! We need you to come back!"

They turned to her. Espio and Silver nodded. Shadow, though, summed her up. He saw memories haunting her and felt pity. He then promised solemnly, "I will." She swallowed then looked away. With that they dashed off. Knuckles growled after them icily. Sonia shot an accusing glance at him. He blushed. Shade felt herself bristling. Knuckles cleared his throat and subconsciously retreated back into Team Sonic. Sonic rolled his eyes affectionately. Tails stifled a giggle.

Aleena had stood watching the house, just outside the property. She took a deep breath then had rushed the other way. She heard the unmistakable sound of the fortress then came to a stop. "Vanilla!" she called.

The rabbit instantly emerged from the forest. "Time to fly?" she asked.

"What else?" Aleena questioned affectionately.

Vanilla giggled saying, "All we need now is a power member and we'll be a team." Aleena smiled nervously. Vanilla ceased to try and lighten her friend's solemn mood. Instead she began to fly as her daughter did. Aleena grabbed on. As the fortress passed above them, Vanilla flew up. They wouldn't expect a thing. She was right. Safely she deposited the Queen beside a secret entrance she had scouted out. "Be careful Aleena," she warned.

"I'll be fine," she reassured.

"Will you?" Vanilla seriously asked. "Think about it. Do you truly win at all?"

"That's enough," Aleena ordered.

"I'm just warning you. Please, be careful. You can protect yourself against robots, assassins, your children, but can you protect yourself from your heart?" Vanilla said. Aleena looked towards the rising sun. Vanilla sighed then warned, "Avoid Team Vile if you can. I'll look into the incident. I'm curious about what happened."

After a moment Aleena replied, "All right." Vanilla nodded then hurriedly flew away before the defenses went up. Aleena swiftly made her way into the Flying Egg Fortress. Soon after, as she raced through the halls, she heard her children's voices. Hope came to her. She sped towards where they were. They would meet, finally! But wait… a feeling was coming over her. One of foreboding. What if this was a trap? Why hadn't she thought of it yet? She stopped. She looked around the last corner and saw them. The feeling that she was being deceived grew. Soon she could ignore it no more. On hearing Manic say they could meet any second, she turned to run, but accidentally bumped a barrel. She mentally kicked herself for it but continued to run, red cape billowing behind her.

Sleet entered a dock where the E-series stood. He looked up at the Chaos and Sol Emeralds lining the large room. He watched, safely away from the energy, as the E-100's absorbed the last of the power they needed. The Emeralds stopped glowing. He chuckled evilly. He then used a device to draw back down the Emeralds. These he placed safely in a specialized container. Pleased with himself for how the plan was coming along he looked up to face the robots. "E-series, attention!" he ordered. Instantly the E-100's turned to him. "Now get this through your heads. I will _not_ tolerate any attempt at betrayal, not mentioning names, Gamma. You will obey my every order. Is that clear?"

"Yes sir," all one-hundred-twenty-two robots, including a reprogrammed Gamma, said in unison.

"Good," Sleet said. He pressed a button and a door opened into space. "Now, E-units, find Sonic's friends and destroy them. Dismi…" he was about to finish the last command when all at once he felt a weight thrust into his back knocking him to the floor! He instantly rolled over only to see his attacker. He gasped in shock and sudden fear exclaiming, "Queen Aleena!"


	29. The Final Battle: Revelations

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Must read all the way through. Excuse at the bottom.)

_**The Final Battle: Revelations**_

"That's enough Sleet! You will _not_ destroy my children!" she shouted furiously as she jumped at him with sword poised to run him through! Like lighting he rolled from her path then tripped her. The sword went sprawling from her hand and she gasped then lunged for it. She had hardly rolled over, after her hand had closed on the hilt again, when he leapt onto her and began to strike! She blocked the attacks furiously then landed a blow across his face, knocking him from her. They leapt up. She lunged with the sword, but this time he drew his own, combating her attack, and for a time the two engaged in the fight.

Sleet jumped suddenly backwards, towards the loading dock entrance, pulling off a half back flip where he pushed off with his hands. He drew his laser gun with murder in his eyes and shot. She swiftly moved to the side then tackled him once more. He caught her in his arms, but as he stumbled back he tripped over something on the ground. She was standing up beside his fallen form in a second. He instantly reached out and grabbed her ankle tripping her. She screamed as she threw herself forward, and fell across him. The position froze the two for a stunned moment, but Sleet quickly recovered, wriggling from under her. He turned to the bots finishing, "E-series dismissed! Find Sonic's allies! Leave the Underground to me!"

"No!" Aleena screamed as she tackled his legs bringing him down.

"Yes sir," the robots agreed. They took off quickly. Sleet struggled with her until finally the two pulled apart and stood across from each other, panting and gasping, both with murderous fire, merciless loathing, blazing in their eyes.

"Monster…betrayer… how _could_ you?" Aleena finally hissed, tears of maddening hatred burning in her eyes.

"I would have thought you'd be used to the idea by now my Queen, after all I was never far from it. You know that, or should have guessed from the way I kept going after your children," Sleet growled.

"Don't you _dare_ call me that! I am _not_ a Queen of traitors!" she replied, eyes drying. "Answer me!"

"_You're_ one to talk!" he yelled, finally losing his cool.

"What is _that_ supposed to mean?" she hissed hatefully.

"Why Queen Aleena, don't you remember? Before Eggman, before your children, all those years ago? Oh my dear sweet baby, my ever gracious, ever beautiful, ever powerful, queen. Has anyone else ever called you that? I wonder," he said, venom on every sarcastic word.

She looked ashamedly down then back up furiously. "How could I forget?" she replied.

"_You_ tell _me_. That was the exact question _I_ asked," Sleet said. Aleena swallowed over a tightening in her throat.

"Why did you stay with him Aleena!" he demanded to know, taking a menacing step forward.

She remained where she was. "I-I thought you were dead," she quietly admitted, long forgotten emotions beginning to well inside of her.

"Now why would you think that?" he asked with a cruel smirk. Smug expression falling to hatred once more, he demanded again, "Why did you stay with him!"

"Because they told me they would only spare _your_ miserable life if I agreed to marry him! What else could I do!" she cried with a sob.

"Aleena, I thought you were a clever woman. Did you honestly think your father or your people would spare the life of the one who took their queen's purity?" he questioned in mock disappointment. Her mouth was open. She could say nothing. "Exactly," he went on. "Now, why would you think I was dead again?" Sleet pressed coldly.

"I am _not_ the one in the wrong Sleet! I suffered for _months_ not knowing! I could hardly stand it. I went to my husband and begged him to let me see you! He looked distraught, my father bitter. My husband told me that he never found out what they had done until too late! He told me you had been executed against orders! At least my father had the decency to feel remorse when I broke down!"

"Your 'husband' didn't lie," Sleet replied in an eerie monotonous voice that haunted her, sent shivers of terror through her body.

"What do you mean?" she meekly questioned.

He bitterly chuckled. "The day of your wedding they brought me to the tower. They forced me to my knees, forced me to watch your wedding. They told me that if you voiced a certain phrase, I would die. The moment the words 'I do' left your mouth my fate was sealed, and my hope for life was taken from me. I was terrified, desperate to get away, but I couldn't fight back, so I closed my eyes and bowed my head waiting for… well, let's just say, electricity coursing through your body in a long, drawn out, attempt to kill, is not a very pleasant feeling."

Aleena covered her mouth. "Since then the fear of death has consumed me. However, as you can plainly see, luck was with me. Those imbeciles screwed up. I swear your palace was full of idiots on par with _Dingo_, and that's not saying much. They never even double checked the setting. When they electrocuted me with that gun, there wasn't enough power to kill; but by the gods did it hurt, and I _did_ pass out. Imagine my surprise when I woke up alive. They came for my body and brought it out of Mobodoon to that mass grave where they once buried only the worst criminal offenders. All the while I played dead. I escaped them Aleena. I escaped them and came back for you, as I said I would."

"No…" she whispered as she shook her head in disbelief, hate losing the battle to misery, in her eyes.

There was no remorse in his own, no pity. Instead he continued, "Yes, but mind you I came back two months later. My luck was holding out when I saw that a royal address was about to take place. Of course, being the idiot I was back then, I believed things would swing in my favor."

"Why didn't…" she began. He never let her finish.

"I _loved_ you Aleena! He couldn't _begin_ to care for you like I had once. I wanted to appear to you, step out in front of the crowds where you would see and know it was me; but something in me was telling me not to get my hopes up. People seemed a little _too_ excited. Lo and behold my instinct was right. There you appeared with your 'husband,' holding his hand, glowing brilliantly, grinning ear to ear with that radiant smile that I'd… That I'd _foolishly_ come to love!"

"Sleet…" she pityingly whispered, shaking her head compassionately. "How could you?"

"How? You have the gall to ask _how_!" he yelled in pained fury, hurt suddenly appearing in his eyes. She had never seen such an expression before, not for so long. He forced himself to take a deep breath. He then replied, eyes defeated, "You looked so content, so happy, and right then I knew that things were _definitely_ not about to swing in my favor." Anger began to darken his irises again, but his voice remained calm, his tone conveying remorse and hurt and so much more. "Then I learned you were pregnant, and I… I was angry… Angry they weren't _mine_! Angry that you seemed happy living the life you had once promised to _me_! The life only you and _I_ were meant to share! So I threw everything behind me, every feeling I held for you, and left, never planning to return. Of course Robotnick just _had_ to bring an end to _that_ too."

Upon hearing this Aleena burst into tears sobbing, shaking her head. With those few words she felt like he had made her into the villain. Was it really her fault, all her fault? No, it couldn't be. He was always a villain, this she knew, but had he become _this_ because of _her_? This vengeful creature bent on destroying her and her children. No... she wouldn't believe it. Oh gods why did she come? Why did she have to face him again? She wished she were dead. "I told you I would never marry a man I did not love with my whole heart," she said softly.

"Hah, a liar too your majesty? That man you married, he didn't deserve you! He could _never_ have deserved you! You settled! Like you said, they told you they would only spare _me_ if you married _him_!"

"You know what I mean Sleet!" she protested. He said nothing. "What did it matter anyway? You could have come back! My husband was murdered only five months after the wedding by a…a bounty hunter…" she trailed off then gasped, covering her mouth with both hands. She looked into his eyes fearfully. "Did you…?"

He did not directly reply. Instead he asked, "Did you ever truly love him Aleena?"

She backed away a step stammering, "H-he was a good man. He would have been a good father for our children."

"Did you love him?" Sleet repeated.

"Husband, why?" she asked, almost to herself but addressed to him.

"Did you truly love him?" Sleet repeated once more.

She was shaken, fighting for words, but all at once she came back to her senses. Boldly, hatefully, she hissed, "Yes." Sleet growled, feeling darkening fury overtaking him. However, she continued in a different tone, one full of sadness and remorse, "I _loved_ him, but not in the way I had once loved _you_. Before you there was none I loved, after you there continued to be no one. For _years_ I mourned you. The pain of his death couldn't even _begin_ to compare to the agony I felt when he told me you were dead! When I saw you again, knew you were alive, I ran. I couldn't stop running, weeping, denying it was really you. You were alive, you were right there, I could reach out and kiss you if I had wanted to, but you were after my children, hired to harm them. I was torn between an old long lost love for you and the need to protect Sonic, Sonia, and Manic. For sixteen _years_ you had been nothing but a wish, a faded dream. I nursed a hatred for you to rise from old memories, and I _chose_ my children. How could I not?"

"Of course you did," Sleet growled.

"Oh young man… what have you done?" she hollowly asked. He said nothing in reply, just glanced to the side. "What happened to you," she quietly, desolately, asked through her tears, as she wrapped her arms about herself rubbing her arms for a sense of protection, trying to hide how vulnerable she felt then.

"More than you can _begin_ to imagine in that horror filled dungeon of yours!" he furiously barked as he turned to face her once more. Calming himself he added, "The man you loved is dead Aleena, gone. You killed him. There is only _me_ now, longing for vengeance against you and your children!"

"The man I loved never _could_ be called a hero, always on the darker side," she replied, begged.

"Oh not like this love," Sleet bitterly replied, crossing his arms.

"Then…" she weakly began. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. She forced herself from the past and into the present. She forced herself to forget everything they had once had, everything he once meant to her. She was right, there was nothing left to salvage. Love had died long ago. Her eyes opened once more, revealing the fiery hatred inside them. She met his eyes. Her voice once more strong and resolved she continued, "Then I have no choice but to hate you now, and kill you without remorse."

"Excellent, because before this ends, my Queen, one of us will die. Your children's fates are sealed. You're going to reveal yourself too soon. The trap has already succeeded. It will be all the easier now," he began. She felt her breath catch in her throat, terror for her offspring consuming her. "Either you or I will not return. I trust there will be no mourning on either side." She shook her head in denial. "Farewell my old lover. I hate you. I hate everything about you, everything you stand for," he finished.

"As do I," she replied in rising fury.

He suddenly whipped out a communicator and barked, "Nack, Dingo, I need immediate assistance down in loading dock one!"

"Roger Sleet, we're on our way," Nack's voice replied.

"Hold on mate, we're comin'," Dingo added.

Aleena let out a vicious battle cry, drawing her sword and running at a man she now couldn't believe she had loved, yet could. "I hate you!" she screamed as she neared. He swiftly drew his own and raced at her too. The blades clashed and viciously they battled, the upper hand going to neither.

Suddenly, though, two voices called, "Sleet!" Nack and Dingo. Aleena was distracted, and that was all it took. Sleet slashed at her knocking the sword from her hand. She gasped then turned to him in horror, fear, eyes begging for mercy. He never saw it, but instead slashed her arm. She cried out in pain. He hadn't killed her? All at once he kicked her back. She slid across the floor then sat up to look at him in disbelief.

"Now I must go take care of your dear sweet children. Goodbye your highness." He ran towards Fang and Dingo on the 'Marvelous Queen.'

Desperately she sprang up and chased after him crying, "No! Sleet, wait! Please! The fate of the world and Mobius is in their hands! They are not just _my_ children…" They were gone.

The trio of spies who had listened to most of this in awe, now ready to jump in, were frozen in shock at her words. "Oh, this is _not_ good," Espio said hollowly.

"Is that even possible?" Silver asked in shock. He shook out of it then continued, "Lovers? They were lovers? Quick, let's get out of here and back to the others."

"We tell Sonic Underground and the others _nothing_," Shadow firmly said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Agreed," the other two chimed.

"Good, then let's scout for the computer that controls this menace," Shadow stated. They nodded then began to search.

* * *

(A/N: An idea is an idea, and I just had to go with it. Yes, I did it. I paired Sleet and Aleena. I know some may not buy it, but it _is_ interesting. Actually, I couldn't believe I thought it up either. However, what I found out was that once you have the couple planted in your head and watch Sonic Underground, there's no shortage of things and events fans could twist around to make it seem like it really is plausible. I could list a group of them right off the top of my head. Things that those who watched it as kids wouldn't think of, therefore wouldn't nurse, that would subconsciously even put the idea in our minds now.

Maybe at the end of the story I will, in the final author's note. Think of it this way, if there was a couples theme, no song would cover it better than Three Days' Grace (I think)-I hate everything about you. If you haven't heard it, it's a good song. This was the main pairing I was concerned about. Others not so much. Please, if you didn't like this, don't let it spoil the rest of the story. Read on and enjoy the rest of the Final Battle Saga.)


	30. The Final Battle: Nine Computers

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: No major battle yet, but in the next chapter there will be some minor battles. After that I think a major fight starts. In this chapter I address Sonia, Manic, and Aleena's eye colors. Sonia and Manic's I got from a picture of the Underground on deviant art. Looks like they were actually in a game. As for Aleena's eye color, wiki lists her as blue eyed, though I know it was probably some fan putting it down, because from what I've seen on Sonic underground, her eyes were the same color as everyone else, except Sleet who was the only one with an actual color besides Robotnick.)

_**The Final Battle: Nine Computers**_

The others waited, becoming slightly impatient and worried. "Where are they?" Blaze finally asked nervously.

"They'll be back soon. They're fine," Sonic reassured her.

"I'm gonna go check around the corner. No bots have attacked us yet. It's getting weird," Manic declared.

"Manic don't," Tikal fearfully said.

"Hey, I'm just going around the corner, no farther," he reassured. Without waiting for confirmation he ran towards it then around.

"Aren't you going to go after him?" Jet worriedly asked his siblings.

"Nah, Manic can take care of himself," Sonic replied.

"At least things are beginning to get back to normal now," Sonia said, amused that her brother was beginning to lose the violently protective aura he'd held since they reunited. Sonic grinned.

Suddenly Shadow and Silver raced around the corner. "They're back!" Amy happily exclaimed.

"Wait a minute, where's Espio?" Sonia asked.

All of a sudden a voice spoke from thin air saying, "Right here blue eyes." She gasped in surprise, jumping, then the chameleon showed himself smiling teasingly.

"Don't do that! You scared me!" she chastised.

"That was the point," he answered. She playfully slapped at him.

Sonic rolled his eyes then looked towards some barrels to the side. Suddenly two yellow orange eyes appeared. He cried out in alarm. The others quickly turned. Manic, though, came from behind them laughing. "Easy bro, it's just me," he said.

"Manic, don't do that! Man your eyes are as yellow as Sleet's!" Sonic shot.

"Oh brother, don't liken me to him," Manic said.

The three spies looked uneasily at each other. Now was the time to talk, yet keep the main parts secret. Espio looked solemnly at the triplets saying, "Sonia's eyes are as blue as her mother's."

The three gasped. They looked to him demanding at once, "You found her!"

"I'll say we did. In loading dock one as Sleet was sending out the E-series to find us all. She attacked him trying to stop him from relaying the orders," Silver answered.

"What! Is she okay!" Sonia asked.

"If he hurt our mother…!" Sonic furiously began.

"At least he didn't kill her, and believe me he had the opportunity. Just before he escaped he managed to knock her sword away and slash her arm. She's lucky he didn't run her through. She was wide open," Shadow flatly said.

"Why would she face him alone?" Manic asked. "Especially when he could easily have told the E-100's to come back and kill her first."

The spies looked at each other making sure none of them would spill. Turning back Espio replied, "He was probably too shocked to think about it." He saw that the others looked suspicious. He felt himself beginning to worry.

Silver, though, quickly solved the problem by saying, "That's not important. Sonic, you Sonia and Manic have been tricked, so has your mother. Sleet told her that it was all a lie! You four aren't supposed to meet yet, or if you are neither the oracle nor the prophecy has determined it!"

They gasped. "No…" Sonia said, tears of denial in her eyes. Manic and Sonic looked equally upset.

Sonic, though, became angry and growled, "That son of a gun Slick is finally getting a clue."

"Maybe it's time to take Team Vile down before they become an actual threat," Manic said.

"Hah, too late for that," Rouge declared.

"She's right. Those creeps have got us pegged," Wave solemnly said.

"That's not even the biggest problem. We've got to get this weapon out of the sky. If we can destroy the real mainframe, and this time complete destruction, then this place will fall to the earth and get rid of every bot Robotnick has collected so far. The E-series will be destroyed, the swat bots, everything still on board, unless Eggman pulls off another miracle survival. All we have to do is get off ourselves," Espio declared.

"We took the liberty of trying to find the mainframe. Guess what, either it's hidden well, or it's not the only thing making this baby fly. All around this base there are computers that control it. We found nine of them, every one guarded by five improved swat bots. Each one needs to be destroyed. Chances are they're backups," Silver declared.

"So we break into nine teams then," Sonic said. "As for Sonia, Manic, and me, we need to find our mother and let her know somehow that we already know it's a trap so we don't all run into each other. If she thinks we're trying to find her she'll get unpredictable. She could run right into us, literally. Once that's done we find the main computer, destroy it, then meet back on Earth, that way if we're separated we'll know where to find one another."

"Suits me fine," Shadow said. Without thinking he declared, "Rouge, with me."

She looked surprised then pleasantly amused. "Whatever you say boss," she teased as she flew to him.

He looked at her then said, "Chaos Control!" With that they disappeared.

Silver closed his eyes then opened them saying, "They're outside the first computer's room. Quickly he outlined the location of the other computers.

"All right, this will be too easy," Tails said with a scheming glint. He looked at Cream, his mouth open, but then it fell shut. He felt himself blushing. She looked innocently, curiously, up at him. "Uh, C-Cream, want to take the second computer with me? I can show you some tricks," he nervously said as if he were asking her on a date though both were far too young.

Sonic chuckled, amused, Knuckles was smirking. That served to make Tails blush more. "Awe, is the braniac at a loss for words?" Wave taunted him.

"That's pathetic Tails," Charmy buzzed.

"Leave Tails alone Charmy and Wave! I'd love to go with you Tails," Cream sweetly, excitedly, replied.

"Chao, chao," Cheese chimed.

"Really? Great! Let's go!" Tails happily said, taking her hand. With that the two flew off.

"They're cute," Amy said with a giggle.

"Oh yuck," Wave said, sticking out her tongue disgustedly. "That little twerp hasn't got a chance."

"Yeah!" Charmy agreed.

"Shut up brat," Wave frowned.

"You shut up!" the bee yelled.

"Whatever! Jet, let's go for the third," she declared, taking his hand and flying off.

"Now _there_ goes an adorable pair!" Vector shouted teasingly after them. They froze together, feeling warmth. Quickly they tried to ignore it and went off.

"Oh boy, adventure! Come on co-captain Charmy! Let's show them robots at the fourth computer a _real_ hard time!" Marine excitedly declared, jumping up and down.

"You really want _me_ Marine! Yippee! She likes me!" Charmy cheered.

"Course I do Charmy, you're so cute!" Marine said giggling.

"Vector, Vector, she thinks I'm cute!" Charmy exclaimed flying to the Crocodile.

"Yeah kid, now get going, and be careful! Them swat bots mean business," Vector said with an affectionate roll of his eyes.

"Yay!" Charmy cried. He instantly buzzed over to Marine and carried her off.

"That was too cute for words!" Amy squealed with Sonia.

"Yeah, adorable," Shade wryly said.

"Come on Shade, let's get this over with," Knuckles declared, taking her hand and pulling her after him.

"Those swat bots at the fifth computer won't know what hit them," Shade smiled as she pulled down her helmet.

He grinned at her saying, "You said it. Together we'll be unstoppable."

"Is that a proposal?" she teased.

He felt himself blush deeply. "What!" Sonia exclaimed. Manic quickly covered her mouth with his hand.

"N-no," Knuckles stammered nervously. "Let's just go." She rolled her eyes and they left.

"I don't believe this. Rouge and Shade both?" Sonia asked.

"Apparently you too," Espio bitterly said to her.

"Huh?" Sonia asked in confusion.

"Vector, let's go!" Espio sharply barked, ignoring her.

"Espio, wait, what was that supposed to mean!" she asked, upset that he seemed angry at her.

"Like you don't know," he replied coldly. The others shifted awkwardly. "Come on Vector, the sixth computer is waiting," Espio prompted.

"Uh, right," Vector replied, following the testy chameleon.

"Wh-what did I do? Why is he mad at me?" Sonia asked meekly, clearly hurt.

"It's just Espio Sonia," Silver attempted to console as he placed a hand on her shoulder. She covered her face with her hands and sniffed. She then looked up sadly at him again.

"I think a certain Chameleon has a thing for our sister," Manic said quietly to Sonic.

"I never thought I'd see the day," Sonic agreed. "What does he even see in her?" he joked.

"Now that's the brother I remember," Manic teased. Growing serious he continued, "Seriously though, she's usually not this clueless when it comes to things like this."

"She must still be hung up on Knuckles," Sonic said with an annoyed sigh.

"It's not like he's completely over her anymore, now that we're back," Manic replied. Sonic nodded an agreement.

"What are you two babbling about!" Sonia demanded angrily, now in a bad mood.

"Sonia, I think you hurt him," Amy said calmly.

"No, you think?" she asked bitterly.

"Never mind," Amy sighed. She looked to Tikal saying, "Come on Tikal let's tackle the seventh one."

"Of course, anything to end this terror," she replied.

"Hey, be careful you two," Manic worriedly said. Tikal smiled at him then pecked his cheek making him blush. The two girls left.

"So Blaze, you up for taking on the eighth computer?" Silver asked, not quite meeting her eyes.

She smiled, amused, then answered as she tilted his chin to make him meet her eyes, "Did you even really have to ask?" He blushed. "Come on my prince, let's go," Blaze said.

"Uh, yeah, go," Silver repeated in a daze as he followed her.

"Wait, if Silver and Blaze are going together, then that means…" Storm began. He looked over at Omega and all the flashing lights. He swallowed.

Omega looked at him saying, "Sensors indicating abnormal levels of stress emanating from subject Storm the Albatross. Unfortunate duty clear, assist Albatross in destroying computer nine. At least Vector the Crocodile is not here too. Come partner."

"Uh, yeah, sure," Storm nervously said. He swallowed then followed the departing bot.

"Man poor Storm," Manic chuckled sympathetically.

"Eh, he'll get over it," Sonic replied. "Come on sibs, let's blow this place and find mom."

"We're with you all the way brother," Sonia replied, finally smiling again. With that they raced off.


	31. The Final Battle: Destroy All Computers

_**Painful Memories**_

_**The Final Battle: Find And Destroy All Computers**_

Shadow and Rouge appeared just outside of a room. "Well that was convenient," Rouge said as she brushed back her fur.

"Humph, be prepared. Remember, there are five of them in there, and thanks to their improvements they're some of Eggman's most powerful," Shadow replied.

"It'll be no problem," Rouge replied.

"That's what we said about Team Vile," Shadow responded.

"Hey, don't worry. Let's just get in there and get it done," Rouge said. With that she kicked in the door and flew at the swat bots! Shadow raced in after her. Within five seconds he'd destroyed one of them. Rouge delivered a violent kick at another. It was soon gone, but now the others were alert.

They began shooting, and their aim was nearly infallible. Shadow himself was desperately transporting to avoid them. He watched Rouge protectively as she swooped all over the place dodging behind barrels and pillars. "Shadow, cover me!" Rouge shouted.

"Are you crazy!" he asked, still dodging. However, he saw her racing out and gasped. "Troublemaker!" he yelled at her. He saw them aiming for her. He stopped then instantly cried, "Chaos Spear!" The attack shot out knocking the robots to the ground. They were beginning to short circuit. Rouge delivered a swift kick to one of the three and quickly flew off as it exploded. She quickly disposed of the other two then landed next to Shadow panting. He looked at her, eyes wide and mouth open in surprise.

"I told you it was nothing," she said with a laugh.

"So you did. Don't worry, you've been wrong before," he seriously said, quickly recovering.

"Hey!" she said. He smirked at her then focused on the computer.

"Now which one…" he began.

"Allow me," Rouge replied. She began to try and hack it. Shadow looked annoyed. He glanced around and his eyes widened. He looked back at her with a victorious smirk. He walked towards the object he'd seen then broke into it. He pressed the button.

"Self-destruct initiate," the box rattled. Rouge gasped then turned to see Shadow victoriously smiling at her.

"All right, don't be so full of yourself," she said coldly. He couldn't help but chuckle. "Let's get going. This computer will blow in a few minutes.

Tails and Cream reached the outside of the second computer room. "Oh Tails, this is so exciting. I get to see you work!" she said happily.

"Yeah, I can teach you how to do it if you want," he replied.

"Oh yes please, I would like that," she said. He smiled.

Growing serious again he warned, "Remember, there are five swat bots in here."

"I remember, but we'll take care of them together, won't we," she said certainly with a smile. "Besides, you're here to protect me."

"Y-yeah, we will, I am," he replied, catching onto her optimism. "Now on the count of three; one, two, three!" Together they burst in flying instantly away from the swat bots that instantly began shooting at them.

"Chao, chao, chao!" Cheese cried in a panic.

"Don't worry Cheese, we'll get them!" Cream reassured. "Go now!" she ordered as she managed to fly behind them. Cheese instantly darted down and began attacking the bot. It's sensors couldn't read the creatures movement, and Cream herself distracted. Cheese managed to take it down in ten seconds. Too slow for their liking.

Tails dove beneath a shot and rolled right in front of the bot. Quickly he tripped it. He leapt on and began to try and get the wires, but it was rising, the others firing. "All right, let's do this the hard way then!" Tails shouted. With that he stuck a device onto it then flew off diving behind a counter to avoid the shots. "Cream, hurry!" he called. She looked at him confused but sensed the urgency. Instantly she obeyed, diving down to him.

"What's going on?" she asked.

"I have to override that bot," he quickly said. He drew out a complex looking device and began to push buttons explaining things to Cream when he could. All at once it flashed that access was granted.

"All right!" they cheered. Tails instantly took control making the one bot turn on the others and fire. Soon enough the other three were down.

"I'll finish him!" Cream declared. Tails nodded. She flew up with Cheese then ordered him to attack. The chao quickly obeyed. Soon the robot fell. Tails emerged then raced to the second computer.

He looked confused at first. Finally he said, "The others didn't want to waste time with hacking, but I don't see any other way to make it blow, so here goes nothing." He began typing, Cream watching. Finally he said, "Eureka! This thing will blow in a few minutes, let's get going."

"Okay," Cream agreed excitedly.

Jet and Wave swiftly reached the third room. Wave pulled out an x-ray type of device and put it to the door. She looked through surveying the room. "So, Vector thinks we're a cute couple huh?" Jet finally said as he grew impatient and decided to bug her.

She stiffened feeling heat in her cheeks. Coldly she turned then replied, "Don't even think it."

"Oh come on Wave, you know you like me," he said.

"Stow it!" she shot. She angrily turned back to looking into the room.

Suddenly she felt his breath in her ear, his form right behind her. She tried to ignore that her heart rate sped up. She was older than him for Pete's sake. Get control girl. Stupid hormones. "_I_ like _you_," he flirtatiously said, suddenly.

She whirled on him seeing his face only inches from hers. Her breath caught, but quickly she retorted, "Don't disgust me! Back off Jet! We have work to do!" He held up his hands in a surrendering gesture and backed off, yet the smile was still on his face. She harrumphed then turned in a huff. "The computer doesn't have a self-destruct on it, but off to the side there's something strange. It looks out of place. I think it might be what we're looking for. I'll break into it while you take care of the swat bots, and for goodness sake be careful."

"You never cease to amaze me. You're wonderful Wave, have I ever told you that" he replied flirtatiously.

"Thank you," she said, then realized what he'd said. She saw his victorious expression and felt her blood boiling. She scowled at him then shot, "Get in there!"

"Yes ma'am!" he agreed. Instantly he raced inside, faster than even she had thought he would. She heard the bots firing, but no explosions or sounds of them falling were reaching her ears. Feeling nervous she looked inside. Jet was having a heck of a time avoiding them all and getting close enough to attack. Just then, though, he dove down on one taking it out, finally. He raced to the second shoving it back into the other three. They fell like dominoes but were instantly up again.

Though worried for him she snuck in without them knowing. She hurried to the object. She looked back at Jet who had only just managed to take out another. He looked at her desperately, pleading for her to either hurry or help. She quickly broke into it then found what she was looking for. She pressed it then raced over to the bots. Her surprise attack was the turning point. Soon enough the pair had taken all the bots out. "This place is going to go soon, let's get away from this computer!" she said urgently to Jet.

"Leave it to me," he replied as he took her and dragged her out at a surprising speed.

Charmy and Marine snickered outside of door four as if this were a game. "Are we ready Captain Marine?" Charmy asked.

"You bet we are, let's go!" Marine declared. "I even have a time bomb to blow up the computer with!"

"Whoa, where'd you get that?" Charmy asked.

"I found it in Team Dark's things," she replied. "But don't tell mate, or I'll be in big trouble.

"Okay," he agreed.

Together they cried, "Charge!" They burst through the door and had taken out a robot together within seconds. They laughed and giggled as the robots fired desperately, but their sensors could hardly keep up to the hyper pair's antics. They were unpredictable, blissfully unaware of the danger they were in, though slowly they were beginning to realize it as the laughing had stopped abruptly, and it worked in their favor. They had taken out all five soon enough. They stood looking nervously down at them.

"Are they dead?" Marine asked.

Charmy kicked one then flew back as its gun arm fell. He then replied, "Y-yeah, we're safe now."

"I can't believe we just made it. We should be dead," Marine suddenly realized. They looked nervously at each other.

"We're not though, just lay the bomb," Charmy said. Marine nodded and set it. They then raced from the room screaming.

Shade and Knuckles stopped at the door. "Are you ready?" Knuckles asked.

"Always," she replied.

"Good. Let's teach these robots a thing or two," he said.

"Right, I've got a bomb ready to set when we get to the computer," Shade said. Together the two burst into the room and ran at the swat bots with battle cries.

Knuckles jumped onto one and began striking at it over and over again. Slowly it was weakening. Finally it fell. Another was shooting at him. He hissed in pain as a laser grazed the back of his neck burning him. "Oh no you don't!" Shade shouted leaping at the offending bot. She fought it until it fell.

"Good work!" Knuckles called as he raced by and tackled another swat bot. Shade joined him and it fell in seconds. A shot, though, struck her in the shoulder making her cry out in pain. "Shade!" Knuckles exclaimed.

"I'm fine, get the bot!" she replied. He felt his blood boiling. He whirled on it furiously and attacked. Shade raced for the last one and soon they both had fallen.

Coming together in front of the computer Knuckles demanded, "Are you all right!"

"I'm fine Knuckles," she reassured. "Hurry, let's lay this bomb and leave." He looked worriedly at the wound. She smiled, flattered, then said, "It's okay." Quickly she set the bomb then took his arm dragging him along. "Come on," she said. He obeyed.

Vector and Espio reached the sixth computer room. Espio opened the door to look inside. "It shouldn't be too hard, seeing I can turn invisible," he declared.

"Don't you think you were a little harsh with Sonia?" Vector asked suddenly.

Espio looked back at him in surprise. His gaze hardened then he replied, "Not in particular, no."

"She looked really upset Espio," Vector said.

"Is that a fact?" Espio said, dismissing it.

"Come on, you like her, admit it," Vector prompted.

"Sonic's sister? No way!" Espio shot.

"Yet when she acted jealous you were mad," he said.

"All right, she's cute, but she's too hung up on Knuckles to notice me!" Espio shot. "Let's just do this, okay. If something goes wrong burst in here and help me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Vector replied. Espio frowned at him but then turned invisible.

With true ninja skill he slipped into the room unnoticed. He crept right between the swat bots to get to the computer. He began to type. The beeps, though, agitated one of the bots. It turned only to read that the computer screen was moving on its own. "Halt, who goes there?" it said. Espio rolled his eyes and continued. Suddenly, though, the dust in the room began making his nose itch.

'Oh no,' he thought. He desperately typed faster, trying to hold back the sneeze, but it was only a matter of time. He felt it coming. He decided it would be best to get rid of at least two bots. He whirled on them, still invisible, and drew out his ninja weapons. He instantly attacked them with a furious cry. In moments two were down. As he was finishing the second the sneeze came. He was visible. That was it. The bots instantly began shooting at him. "Vector!" he called.

Vector barreled into the room and tackled a bot down. He disposed of it and had time to dodge a barrage of fire, though barely. He lunged at another taking it down, but as he did its gun flew back and shot. As luck would have it Espio was jumping at the other. The stray laser struck his leg making him cry out in agony and fall to the ground at the mercy of the bot. "Espio!" Vector exclaimed as he finished the bot beneath him. He charged at the last one who was ready to fire. Espio looked up at it in fear. He closed his eyes as the robot was about to fire, but just then Vector tackled it away. Wounded, Espio limped from the robot and Vector. It was then he saw a strange box. He pulled out a ninja star; teeth gritted, then drove it into the object. Instantly self-destruct was initiated. Vector finished the last swat bot then ran for Espio. He helped him up and out of the room.

"Thanks, I'll be fine in a bit," Espio said.

"You'd better be. This is only the beginning," Vector worriedly replied.

Amy and Tikal reached the seventh computer without much incident. "We must do this quickly," Tikal declared.

"Right, I'll deal with the swat bots, you get the computer to self-destruct," Amy agreed. They hesitated though. After a moment Amy asked, "So, what's with you and Manic?"

Tikal looked confused then shocked. She blushed saying, "Nothing!"

"Mm hmm, come on, you can tell me," Amy pressed. "It'll be our secret."

"In case you didn't notice Amy, Rouge, Wave, and some of the other girls find him very interesting as well," Tikal reproached maturely, but sinking back into herself she added, "But I _do_ like him, as a friend that is."

"I thought so," Amy said, satisfied. "Come on, let's get this over with."

The two girls raced into the room without thought, Amy swinging her hammer with a battle cry. The swat bots instantly began firing. Amy jumped into them determinedly as Tikal flew over their heads to the computer. Amy soon dispelled of two of the bots while desperately dodging and manipulating their fire to shoot each other. Tikal was trying to work the computer, but the bullets flying over her terrified her. Finally she whirled and attacked a nearby bot. Soon it fell to her. Amy smiled gratefully at the horrified echidna. Tikal smirked fearfully then returned to the computer. She wasn't wasting any more time. She focused her powers on it and heard it overloading. The self-destruct warning was issued as Amy finished the last of the bots with minor bruising. Quickly the two girls dashed away.

Silver and Blaze made it to the eighth room in record time. They burst through the doors without thought in a surprise attack, Blaze using her fire powers and Silver using his mind abilities. The robots fired back determinedly. The two were having trouble, but soon enough their blasts took their toll. The swat bots fell one by one then Silver raced to the computer. They wanted this done quickly, no time to look around, so he focused using his abilities to overload it. It worked. The two exchanged victorious smiles then ran.

"That was too easy," Silver said.

"I'll say," Blaze agreed, but suddenly they ran into something. Looking up they saw the form of Alpha! They paled with gasps.

"Must destroy all Sonic Heroes," the robot rattled. Instantly it began firing. This, though, was like nothing they had heard of or dealt with.

"What's wrong with it!" Blaze demanded. She screamed as a barrage nearly hit her. Silver looked at it in terror. She noticed all too well. He suddenly grabbed her hand and took off running. "Silver, what is it!" Blaze asked.

"The Emeralds! They've used the power of all fourteen of the Emeralds! That thing is beyond normal! That's a super if not hyper form robot Blaze! If he's hyper, than the others… No! We'll never make it out of here if they all find us!" Blaze looked terrified. The robot was right behind and gaining. All at once Silver rounded a corner and dove down a mystery chute, hoping and praying it didn't go into space. They fell from it with screams. Blaze saw ground nearing quickly. She instantly began to fly. Gently she managed to lower them down. The robot was no longer pursuing.

They panted, trying to catch their breath. Finally Blaze said, "That was too close! Silver, this is impossible!" Silver, though, was looking around in awe. "Silver?" she repeated.

He looked at her then said in shock, "The main room. We've found the main computer room! We have to let the others know!" Blaze gasped as she too realized it. Silver closed his eyes to relay the message. She felt chills and looked nervously around. Oh how she hoped they'd make it out of this alive.

Storm and Omega were silent as they made their way to the ninth computer. Storm glanced uneasily at the robot then said, "Gee I hope the others succeed."

Omega replied, "They cannot fail, or all is lost."

"Well that's reassuring," Storm grumbled.

"I do not aim to reassure," Omega replied as they came to the door. "I will go in and take care of the swat bots. You will follow. There should be an out of place object to the side. You are to find it, break it, then press the big red button."

"Jet says never press the big red button," Storm hesitantly replied.

"In this case it is necessary. Failure is unacceptable," Omega replied. Storm sighed.

The two burst in on the bots, Omega firing at them maliciously. They desperately shot back. Storm hurried towards the only strange object he saw. He broke it as he was told then pressed the button. The warning was given. He looked back to see how Omega was faring. He saw three bots down. Omega was working on another. Storm raced towards the last one and grabbed it slamming it into the ground. That took care of the already weakened swat bot. Omega finished his own then said, "Now we leave."

"Right on," Storm replied. They headed out, but suddenly Storm stopped with a gasp.

"Subject Storm, is something troubling you?" Omega asked.

He never replied immediately. Soon, though, he exclaimed, "Silver's found the main room! Listen!" With that he relayed every word Silver was saying. Omega absorbed it in his database, not trusting the albatross to remember. He paused, though, on hearing of his 'siblings' the other E-100 bots, and what had befallen them.

As soon as it was done Omega said, "Let us go. E-series now a dangerous threat. Must avoid." Storm nodded.

Silver and Blaze waited impatiently. The first there was Shadow and Rouge. Soon enough the others followed until all of them but the Sonic Underground were assembled. They said nothing, there was nothing to say. They had heard of the threat. After a moment Shadow said, "Let's end this quickly and get out of here before the E-series finds us."

"Right on," Jet replied. He raced towards one of the panels, but before he could make it a quarter of the way, before the others could cry out, all at once Beta landed in front of him! Jet pulled up short with a gasp. Instantly he retreated into the others. Shields came down around the computer leaving them in only a large room. At that moment all other E-100's congregated in the room from entrances the heroes never knew existed.

"Oh this is not good," Amy meekly said.

"No, we can't take them on now!" Shadow exclaimed. On hearing the desperate, almost fearful tone of the Ultimate life form himself, the others began to feel panicked.

"We _have_ to take them!" Rouge exclaimed.

"Rouge, they're in their super or hyper forms! There are one-hundred-twenty-two of them! We're _nothing_ compared to them now!" Shadow exclaimed.

"We have to try! We have no other choice anymore!" Espio shot.

"Great, a competition to see who can stay alive the longest!" Amy furiously exclaimed.

"It's been an honor knowing you all," Tikal sadly said, resigned.

"No…" Knuckles began in fear, sadness. Shade closed her eyes tightly, shaking her head. When next she opened them she saw every single one of the E-series surrounding them, all poised to kill.

"The shield I can put up will only last a little while, a bit longer with Tikal, but it won't be enough," Silver declared.

"We have to try," Tikal replied.

"Danger level off the charts. Failure imminent," Omega said regretfully as he put it out of his mind, as his circuits were beginning to overload with the information.

"Let's fail with glory then," Wave said remorsefully. Jet squeezed her hand. Suddenly the E-series began their attack. Desperately Silver and Tikal put up the shield. They wouldn't have survived any other way. The group split up to take on the threat, a shield around each, yet they sensed the end was near. So near. They never thought it would be like this. They focused, though, on their last desperate goal. Survival. No room for love, for care, for anything, just survive.


	32. The Final Battle: Sonic Heroes vs E100s

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: As it turns out, when you have virtually invincible robots and vulnerable victims, you can't write much of a back and forth battle. All right. This is the first main battle scene. Expectations were high, so it appears, and as I said, I didn't think I could meet them alone. I got some help from a faithful reviewer and ever valuable asset to aiding me in this story, Norcon72. I sent this to him asking him to go over it and try to help improve the battle scene and the next main battle. Hopefully together we've met your expectations, or at least have come up with a passing chapter. Enjoy.)

_**The Final Battle: Sonic Heroes vs. The Hyper E-100's**_

They charged at the same time, all of them, each attempting to take on however many they dared. Amy instantly drew her piko piko hammer and ran in with a battle cry. She leapt at a group of E-100's and began to strike them over and over at an unbelievable speed, but they kept up their shields. As soon as she showed signs of fatigue they came out of their shield and began to pummel her viciously. Desperately she tried to attack back, her shield sparing her most of the blows, but the bots were far too fast!

Cream flew towards another group, terror in her eyes, Cheese bravely beside her. "Cheese go!" Cream ordered.

The little chao shot at the robots exclaiming, "Chao, chao!" It was nothing to the bots. One flick was enough to send it flying.

"Cheese!" Cream exclaimed. She looked back at the bots. They were coming for her! She screamed as she realized that she could no longer rely on her chao pet. She needed to fight. The thought of losing her sweet girl persona scared her, but she had no choice. She flew right at them and began kicking and punching at the robots, but it was useless. In seconds she was overwhelmed. They began wailing on her, but the shield that Silver and Tikal had erected stayed strong, for now.

Shade pulled down her helmet and gave a war cry as she drew out her blade. She leapt furiously into a group and began slashing and stabbing. They pulled back, at first surprised, but soon enough they regained their senses and surged at her! Shade desperately pulled off her fanciest manoeuvres, and strongest attacks. All her skill was invested in the fight, but she was slowly being beaten down. If not for the shield she would have been ripped apart in moments.

Tails flew towards the bots, teeth gritted, not expecting to come out of this alive. He pulled some dummy ring bombs from his pocket and began chucking them. The group of the E-series he was after, though, simply shot them out of the sky. Tails began to tail whip and attack physically, but he didn't stand a chance. The bots had him surrounded. He felt the blows hitting his protection, knowing it would soon give out. Tears developed in his eyes, for it was clear that they were going to die.

Knuckles, Storm, and Vector all barreled into the many bots on the ground at the same time, fists ready for battle. The trio stood back to back and began to punch and kick at their attackers. Slowly but surely, though, they were being beaten. They were forced back into each other, smothered in a sea of robots. They were desperate, protection steadily weakening, but they couldn't give up. They had to win!

Marine made her hand glow with a beam of energy and started shooting at the bots desperately. They fell back in surprise at her powers, but their shields soon went up and they advanced on the little raccoon girl. She saw they had no effect. She moved away in terror. She felt her back pressed against the wall. She screamed loudly as they showered her with bullets and lasers, but her force field held strong.

Charmy heard his friends scream and instantly turned with a gasp. On seeing her he flew to help. From behind he attempted to sting the robots, and managed to inflict some damage, but hardly more than others had done. They turned and began firing at him, only to have him dodge expertly. He landed beside Marine.

"Come on Marine, we have to win!" He exclaimed.

Marine fearfully nodded and readied herself once more. The two tried to battle, but their progress was next to nothing, and in moments they found themselves in the same position as Knuckles, Storm, and Vector!

Omega brought out all the fire power he had, bullets soaring everywhere, missiles flying, barely avoiding the other heroes. So far Omega was faring the best out of all of them, for the missiles could pierce the shields; however, his hyper power 'siblings' weren't about to go down. The power of the emeralds was too great. Their natural armor blocked the missiles entry. They began to swarm the robot, shooting and firing. Omega put up his own shield. Silver and Tikal hadn't bothered giving him one, knowing he had defenses like that already.

"Shields weakening; cannot win; failure unavoidable; cannot retreat!" the robot rattled. That did not serve to make the others feel better.

Espio turned invisible and started clambering around on the walls and sneak attacking. Launching a ninja star, he struck a robot attacking Rouge from behind, taking advantage of its temporarily downed shield. On seeing this, Rouge smiled at him gratefully as she delivered a kick to its head. The robot, though, shot blindly upwards forcing her off. Espio hurried to the next bot, realizing that this one wouldn't go down. He tried again, this time leaping onto Delta, trying to punch through the armor, to the circuits. But it was in vain, not even his knife could so much as scratch it! Realizing his presence, it viciously grabbed him and threw him. He hit the wall with a loud thud. He slid down onto the floor, crying out in pain as he turned visible, and his shield dropped. Silver, on seeing this, quickly managed to restore it. Espio shook out of his daze just in time to be peppered by bullets. Had it not been for Silver, Espio would be dead. He shot a desperate look at his friend, silently willing him not to give up on it. Silver paid no attention though, he continued to concentrate on the fight, but was losing focus.

He felt his power quickly draining. He knew he couldn't keep up the shields _and_ continue fighting for much longer. The problem was, if he stopped fighting and focused his energy on the shield, then there would be one less fighter to take out the 'bots, and therefore that much less of a chance that they could defeat them all. On the other hand, if he dropped the shield and focused fully on fighting, only a miracle would help them win, and many of his friends would certainly die in the process. He couldn't let that happen, he just couldn't. He worked with what he had, and so far what he had, and what everyone else had, was just as Shadow said; nothing. They were nothing more than annoying fly's to the E-100's now. Fly's that needed to be swatted. It was only a matter of time before they fell.

Tikal held back in terror, desperately not wanting to be part of this. A hail of bullets flew over her head though, making her throw herself to the ground, and she knew she had no choice. Regretful tears in her eyes she ran at them. Her magic shields did not need to be focused on like Silver's, but they were weaker, as proven with Espio, Knuckles, Vector, and Storm. She focused all her power, all her ability, in fighting her attackers now, because she knew all too well that if she didn't, her friends would die. This time there was no way out. No immortal deity would help them. Chaos was gone. There was no emerald to seal her essence in to spare them. There was no help, so reluctantly she fought, and she was being swarmed too, steadily losing her power and will.

Wave and Jet began their attack, Wave the air, Jet on the ground. They determinedly dived at their enemies, then pulled back to avoid being shot.

"Why are we even trying?" Wave asked bitterly as she barely dodged another hail of gunfire and came behind an attacking Jet. He was knocked away from the bot and slid to a halt next to her.

He rose painfully then replied with a grimace, "What else can we do? We stop, we die; we keep going we might, by some miracle, live to see another day."

"We're going to die," Wave stated hollowly, only pessimism left in her personality. Jet said nothing to debate her, but instead tried to attack again. Wave could only follow her bosses lead.

Blaze summoned all her pyrokinetic abilities to her and desperately charged at the bots. She torched them with the hottest flames she could. She tried to weld their guns shut, melt them, overheat them, anything! Nothing worked. Fire had next to no effect on them. She lit her fists and gave a battle cry as she flew at the bots, hoping physical attacks would prove more effective. However, it was all in vain. The E-series were beating her without even trying, swarming her and all her friends.

Shadow was teleporting everywhere, attacking randomly, striking everything that moved. Exerting more Chaos energy than he ever thought possible, he desperately fought off the robots. "Chaos Spear!" he shouted. The chaos energy flew out attempting to pin the E-100 in front of him, but failed. The shields and armor and guns of these enemies wiped out the energy of the attack. "Chaos Blast!" he ordered, trying again. A huge eruption of red energy exploded from his body knocking all robots against the walls! The break only lasted seconds however, and they were instantly back up and attacking their targets again. The robots once more began there advance on the Ultimate Life form. Shadow looked around helplessly at all his allies; Rouge, Omega, Silver, all of them… fighting desperately to hold onto life. Fighting a losing battle. He felt like screaming. If only he had the Chaos Emeralds… If only he could go super… But would even a sacrifice as great as his own life destroy so much as one of these hyper robots? He doubted it highly, and if it did it wouldn't be enough to help them. He couldn't help but marvel at how they weren't all dead yet. The robots reached him and he focused on his attacks again.

Rouge flew around attacking with her legs and fists wherever she could. Nothing was happening. She was delivering less damage than _Marine_, and considering how much damage the raccoon had dealt with her power hand… Rouge almost laughed at herself. Who were they kidding? If Shadow said they stood no chance, they stood no chance. Hardly anyone knew the emerald's powers like him. This was so stupid. Why had they come? Of course, they couldn't accept defeat, couldn't accept that Eggman had finally won with the help of Sleet, Dingo, and Nack. Team Vile had come out victorious over every Sonic Hero there was. If their lives would end like this… she shuddered. She could only imagine what fate would befall Sonic's family. Metal Sonic would be after them as soon as he was activated; invincible, unbeatable, and murderous. Lost in thought, she barely managed to dodge a hail of bullets. The shields were nearly gone, she knew it, everybody knew it. In mere seconds they would be left defenseless. They would fall. No one would survive. They'd, dare she admit it, lost.


	33. The Final Battle: Metal Sonic Activated

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: The hover scooter mentioned at the end is the one Sleet used in the Chaos Emerald saga of Sonic Underground. If you've watched the show you'll know what I mean. He was skilled on it too.)

_**The Final Battle: Metal Sonic Activated**_

Sleet burst into the chamber, Nack and Dingo right behind him. The three stopped to gaze upon Metal Sonic. There was silence. Finally Dingo said, "Uh, Sleet mate, are you sure you want to do this? I mean, that robot has a history of treachery. If we power him up with all them emeralds and he decides to turn on us…"

Fang nodded in agreement. Sleet hesitated then looked at the now recharged emeralds. After a moment he replied, "If we don't do this it will cost us our lives anyway."

"No, it'll cost you _yours_," Fang replied. Sleet looked suspiciously at him. "I'm no traitor Sleet, don't worry. I've come to like you anyway, and for me to consider anyone a friend is, well, virtually never. But like Eggman said, Dingo would make a good bodyguard, and he would never be able to think of a way to turn on him."

"What's _your_ excuse?" Sleet challenged.

Nack smiled regretfully, saying, "Simple, I want to live. My self-preservation instinct takes over. He would swear me to an oath never to turn on him, never to come back or try to get Dingo to turn on him, and I would listen. I wouldn't be able to bring myself to disobey."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sleet said with a sigh.

"Sleet, you awaken him with this power and he turns on us, we'll _all_ die, Eggman included. The world will be destroyed. If you don't you _might_ die, and that's a big might once we tell Eggman our worries. You've proved yourself to him. Maybe he'll go easy on you," Fang said, this time almost begging, worry very much present for his friend. Sleet looked at the robot uncertainly. "I mean, what is your backup if he turns on us?" Nack finished seriously. Sleet cringed on realizing he had no backup, at least none that he had made sure was sure fire.

Unknown to them, Metal Sonic had been listening. Already ideas whirled in his mind. His eyes opened and he said, "Must obey master Eggman and General Sleet. I am ready to receive power."

"I'm sure you are," Sleet replied.

"Give me the Emeralds," the robot demanded. It should have been a hint, in fact Team Vile's instincts were warning them, but it wasn't enough. The trio looked hesitantly at each other. Slowly, carefully, Sleet drew out the Sol Emeralds first, one by one. He moved to the robot then placed them inside of it. He saw the bot glow with energy, make noises of enjoyment, then wickedly laugh. "More! More power!" he demanded menacingly.

"I don't like this Sleet," Dingo moaned as he backed away with Nack.

Sleet looked back at the other two whose terror registered all too plainly. He himself realized that his own expression mirrored theirs, fear, panic. He forced them down, swallowed, then turned to the robot looking bold as ever. Maybe he could fake it. It wouldn't listen to a leader that showed fear. "Now, now, moderately you stupid creature. You know what they say, too much of a good thing can be bad for your health." The robot was obviously taken aback by this. Slowly Sleet fed it the Chaos Emeralds. He hesitated with the last one, but finally he looked at the bot and put it in place.

Energy began emanating from everywhere. Dingo and Nack were pressed against the door in terror. Sleet uncertainly backed away a little ways, dread coming back in full force. Suddenly, though, a violent blast of energy shot out taking him up and throwing him into the wall next to the others. They gasped as he dazedly rose to his feet in pain. "That looked painful," Fang remarked.

"Five more minutes mother," Sleet groaned. Dingo and Nack looked nervously at each other then helped their comrade up. He shook it off soon enough. The three gasped, though, as they saw Metal Sonic near them looking unlike anything they'd seen.

"Super form…" Dingo said in awe.

"No, this is Hyper. More than Hyper, I'd say Ultra," Fang corrected. "Ultra Metal Sonic."

Sleet quickly hid his shock then said, "Metal Sonic, you will obey my orders!"

"Of course, master," he said in a far from respectful tone.

"Not liking this," Nack hissed.

"Shh!" Dingo quieted.

Sleet then said, "Good, as long as you stay in place. The Council of Four will soon meet each other. They can't avoid one another forever. As soon as they do, you will attack, understood?"

"Yes sir," Ultra Metal Sonic replied.

"Good, now go," Sleet dismissed. The robot shook then suddenly raced off. They couldn't even see him. Fang and Dingo looked nervously at Sleet. Sleet, though, drew out a device and added, "And don't think for a moment that I'm going to take my eyes off of you."

"Are you crazy! We have no plan for this!" Nack yelled.

"Did you somehow miss the fact that I never shut the compartments of the emeralds? A strong enough kick to the back and they, hopefully, will fly out. If not, well as you said, I die either way."

"But _we_ don't!" Nack retorted.

"I know that you idiots! You two have a different mission!" Sleet shot.

"You think you can take him alone mate!" Dingo demanded.

"Of course not you bubbling fool Dingo! I'm not a muffin brain like you! You and Nack are going to go and make sure that the Council of Four really _does_ meet! Understand! Now go!" he yelled as he transformed Dingo into a ball and booted him out the door.

Nack watched after him in slight confusion and surprise. He turned to Sleet saying nervously, "You're not going to…"

"You have three seconds," Sleet replied. "One, two…."

"I'm gone, I'm gone!" Nack exclaimed, instantly leaping on his bike and taking off after Dingo. Sleet harrumphed then looked at the dot again. He climbed onto his hover scooter and took off after the robot that was blazing through the halls at hyper speed.


	34. The Final Battle: The Council Of Four

_**Painful Memories**_

_**The Final Battle: The Council of Four**_

The Sonic Underground raced through the Flying Egg Fortress, keeping a lookout for their mother. "Dude, how are we going to warn her that we know?" Manic asked his brother.

"I have no clue, Sonia?" Sonic inquired.

"Why are you looking at me to answer?" she asked.

"Because you were always the one who came up with the ideas," Sonic replied.

"Well what if I have no ideas?" she demanded.

"Don't you?" Manic asked.

"Lucky for you I actually do," Sonia replied.

"Well spill sis," Sonic said.

"We let her see us then shake our heads and run. She'll get the message. She already knows it was a trick," Sonia replied.

"What if she sees _us_?" Manic asked.

"She'll warn us some way, like always," Sonia replied like her brothers were idiots.

"Yeah, and what if we 'conveniently' run into her?" Sonic asked.

"Then we're done for," Sonia answered seriously.

"We _can't_ let that happen sibs," Manic declared vehemently as they rounded a corner and raced through a door into a launching pad where they saw a few escape pods.

"Is that so mate?" a voice said. They slid to a halt with gasps only to see Dingo right in front of them!

"Sorry, but we're here to make sure it does," a second said. They turned to face Fang blocking the exit! "Bosses orders," he taunted.

"Bring it on weasel boy!" Manic challenged.

"Hey, that's _my_ name for Nack," Sonic said to his brother with a teasing glint.

"Sorry Sonia, I don't wanna hurt ya," Dingo said guiltily.

"Oh aren't you sweet," she replied, batting her eyelashes. Dingo blushed then chuckled sheepishly.

"Dingo, she's playing you! Focus on the mission!" Nack instantly intervened. Sonia scowled at him.

"Aw Nack…" Dingo began to complain.

"Mission!" Nack shot.

"You mean the one you're about to fail!" Sonic demanded as he raced at Fang.

"Not quite!" Fang retorted as he fired on Manic.

"Whoa!" Manic exclaimed diving desperately to the side.

"Manic!" Sonia and Sonia cried, Sonic sliding to a stop to look back.

"Sonic, look out!" Manic warned. Sonic turned just as Fang fired.

"No!" Sonia screamed as she tackled her brother's legs bringing him down. The bullet barely missed him. Manic rushed to his siblings.

"Dingo, some help here!" Fang exclaimed.

Dingo instantly ran at them with a 'roar.' "Time to go sibs," Sonic said taking their hands and dragging them to the side. Nack cried out and flew upwards as Dingo barreled right at him with no sign of stopping! He was beginning to get what Sleet meant when he said Dingo countered all his best plans. "Yeah, I'll play with you some other time!" Sonic exclaimed victoriously as he prepared to race off.

"Will you mate!" Dingo asked furiously. Without thinking he ripped something out of the ground and tossed it at the triplets.

"Sonic!" Sonia exclaimed.

"Huh?" he asked as he turned. "Whoa!" he exclaimed as the object pinned them to the ground. The three tried to get it off, but Dingo was quick enough to hold it there, and even Sonia couldn't move it, one arm pinned helplessly.

Fang flew over saying to Dingo, "You redeemed yourself quick enough."

"Thanks mate," Dingo replied.

"Now let's finish this. If Queen Aleena doesn't step in to save them, too bad. Metal Sonic can finish her off then help destroy the others," Fang continued.

"Nack, that wasn't Sleet's order," Dingo said glancing worriedly at Sonia.

"Sleet goes against orders all the time and it works," Nack replied, scowling at him. He winked to try and convey he was bluffing to lure Aleena out. Dingo looked confused a moment, but decided to keep quiet.

"Uh, yeah, I guess," he replied.

Fang chuckled then took aim at Sonic figuring that of them all he'd be the Queen's weakest point since she only just learned he was alive after all this time. She never came. He cocked the gun hoping she wouldn't call his bluff. If she did he'd have to fire a warning and pretend Dingo bumped him. If _that_ didn't work either… "So long Sonic Underground," he said.

Luckily for him, though, the triplets cried out without thinking, "Mom!" He knew that would be it if she had found them. He soon regretted how right he was, for all at once the woman leapt from above kicking him violently into the ground!

"Queen Aleena!" Dingo exclaimed in shock as he stopped holding the debris down. The triplets struggled again. Aleena turned on Dingo and spin kicked him knocking him to the side. Dingo dazedly tried to sit up. He growled on seeing her trying to move the object on her children. He began to rise. He looked over at Fang who shook his head shortly and gave the signal to wait. He listened.

With the queen's help the triplets managed to throw the debris. She reached out her hand, eyes ashamed, yet filled with longing, love, emotions too numerous to explain. "Mother…" the triplets gasped in regret, for now it was too late to go back. If it was truly too soon… She sobbed then dragged them up, Sonia, Sonic, then Manic. There it was, the moment. She reached up to remove her hood, but all at once Fang and Dingo leapt up and charged their mother!

They watched in horror as Dingo tackled her making her scream and fly back. She slid across the floor then coughed in pain laying still. "Mom!" the triplets cried. They then furiously looked at the attackers.

Fang noticed and his cocky smile fell. "Uh, maybe that was a bad idea?" he nervously said as he backed away grinning sheepishly.

"You called it pal!" Manic shouted. With that the triplets ran at them making the two cry out in alarm!

They tore at their enemies who desperately blocked. Urgently Nack tried to get his gun. He had it! In a last ditch attempt to stun them he fired, the bullet barely missing Sonic and Manic's heads! It went right between. The triplets gasped, and it was then that Dingo threw them away.

He and Nack leapt up then raced for the 'Marvelous Queen.' Sonic, though, quick as always, leapt up and got in front of them. He viciously kicked first Nack then Dingo back. Sonia jumped up to help. She grabbed their arms, one hand for each, then exclaimed, "Sonia spin!" She twirled them around then thrust them towards the escape pod, twirling. She raced for the bike so she could toss _it_ as well.

Meanwhile, Manic sprang to his feet then touched his medallion. The two were right by a pod and dizzy, already off balance. All he needed was a minor earthquake. The drums came into sight and he began to play. The ground shook violently, making Nack and Dingo cry out as they began to lose their balance. Finally they lost to the quake and fell into the pod! Sonia threw the bike at them and it pinned them inside! Queen Aleena, now rising, saw the opportunity and raced for the pod. In seconds she had activated it. Instantly it blasted off, Dingo and Nack crying out in alarm!

Just like that it was only the four, the triplets looking victorious, the Queen panting. Suddenly the full meaning of this moment hit them. The smirks of the triplets fell to disbelief and their mouths dropped open. Slowly the Queen, their long lost mother, the one they'd vowed to find, the one they'd yearned to see, turned to them. They felt suddenly small and weak beneath her gaze, as if they were once more babies. She was approaching.

The triplets huddled together shaking. Was this really it? Aleena stopped in front of them, only an arm's length away. They let go of each other, fear replaced by a sense of safety, curiosity in their eyes. After a moment she reached up and removed her hood. Their mouth's dropped longingly, hopefully. Their eyes began to glisten with tears. "M-m-mother…?" Sonia meekly squeaked.

They watched as their mother's eyes brimmed with tears as she looked over them longingly, lovingly. She met their eyes with her own blue ones then said, "Hello my babies."


	35. The Final Battle: Treacherous Metal

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Next chapter after this is another battle scene my cohort is going over and revising, so it won't be up right away. Maybe by the end of the day though. If it is done soon then the rest of this story will be put up today. I hope you've enjoyed it so far. Feel free to give me your opinions on couples you like or don't like or, if I do future stories, would like to see more hints of.)

_**The Final Battle: Treacherous Metal**_

Sleet had followed Metal Sonic with his radar. He needed to make sure that the robot was going to stay in his place. Something inside him almost made him laugh. He saw the path the robot was on. Quickly he flew towards an intercepting hallway then came to a stop. He heard the creature nearing. He saw it coming. It was now or never. "Metal Sonic, cease!" he ordered.

The robot came in an instant halt then said, "What is it you wish Master?"

Sleet summed up the robot that brimmed with power. After a moment he met its eyes defiantly, showing no fear, and answered, "Change in plans. The good Doctor would like to have a word with you. Dr. Eggman Robotnick demands your presence immediately."

Metal Sonic said nothing a moment. After a time Sleet heard the robot chuckle evilly. A robot chuckle? It was then that he straightened up, going on guard. This didn't sound good. It was then that Ultra Sonic replied, "Database shows no record of Dr. Eggman."

"What?" Sleet asked icily. "I suggest you check again."

Metal Sonic made beeping sounds then said, "Records show Dr. Robotnick. Worthless weak human master. No threat detected. I will do whatever I please."

"Oh really, then check for me," Sleet growled, after hiding his uncertainty before the robot realized it.

The robot chuckled again. "Records show subject Sleet Wolf. You are nothing compared to my power. I am invincible. I answer to no one unless it pleases me. Move out of my way."

"Oh really!" Sleet shouted, honestly not surprise on hearing the bots defiance. "What if this news should leak to Eggman hmm! What will you do then!"

This time the robot full out laughed. Suddenly he struck Sleet, sending both him and the hover craft soaring violently back into a wall with a resounding crack! He cried out in pain then slumped to the ground. He knew it had left a dent. The hover craft lay wrecked. He groaned rubbing his head. He saw the robot nearing then gasped and pressed himself into the wall. "I answer to no one," the bot repeated. Sleet could have sworn it would kill him then, its gun arm was charging up, but all at once Metal began to beep. The charging stopped. He stood up straight saying, "Council of Four has reunited. Must destroy royal family." The bot shook, then all at once he was gone.

Sleet sighed in relief going limp. After a second he staggered up and raced towards Eggman's gloating room at the front of the fortress. He neared it only to hear Robotnick cry out in sudden terror. Metal Sonic had left his message again. Sleet reached the door as Metal Sonic darted out. He burst in saying, "Sir, are you all right!"

He saw Eggman cowering behind a desk. On seeing the bounty hunter he leapt up and yelled, "I warned you Sleet! Now look what's happened! Do something before he kills us all! I should have you roboticized for this!"

"Oh please your greatness, I have a backup plan, I promise! I'll fix it, I swear!" Sleet pleaded.

"You have one chance! Go while I try to figure out a way to deactivate him!" Eggman ordered.

"Oh thank you sir, thank you, thank you, thank you," Sleet said bowing as he backed out of the room. He shut the door then scowled saying, "Why do I have to put up with you?" Quickly, though, he focused on the task at hand. "No one turns on _me_ and gets away with it!" Metal Sonic would pay for this, and he knew just the one to go to. With the right bait he would agree.

Sleet instantly ran towards the chute that secretly led to the mainframe. He slid to a halt beside it and heard the commotion. He hesitated, extremely reluctant about what he was thinking. However, he soon gave in and ran across the hall to another room. He brought up a screen showing Sonic's allies. He looked to the computer then tapped a sequence of buttons.

The fighters heard strange noises resonating around the room. They had no idea what it was, but they couldn't focus on it now. They were in bad enough shape as it was. The shields had only just died, and now they were at the mercy of the E-series. Sleet picked up an intercom like thing and said, "E-series halt attack!" The fighting group froze with shocked gasps on hearing a voice come over the speakers. In seconds they'd pinpointed it as Sleet's. The robots were paused. Desperately Omega showered them with bullets, but their shields were up. Nothing penetrated them. The missiles that did were destroyed on the armor. The E-100's laughed robotic laughs. "Well, well, it looks as if you walked right into the trap," Sleet said over the speakers.

"Sleet, you'll never get away with this!" Silver shouted furiously, as he cradled a wounded Blaze in his arms.

"Oh won't I? No matter, it's not you and your friends I want. Shadow, I have an offer for you," Sleet replied.

"You can forget it!" Shadow retorted viciously.

"Oh really? The E-series is at their most powerful. Those noises you heard were impenetrable Chaos energy shields that will vaporize anyone who tries to pass them. Knuckles should remember it." Knuckles cringed. Oh he remembered. "You heroes are looking weaker than ever before. Trust me, with your friends in their current position, you're in no place to refuse," Sleet replied. Shadow's fighting stance relaxed.

"Shadow, it's a trick!" Knuckles exclaimed, strange for him since _he_ usually bought the lies he was fed. Shadow simply looked reproachfully at him.

"There, there, I know you don't want to abandon your friends, but the deal is off unless you come here within the next three seconds. One, two…" Sleet began.

"Chaos Control!" Shadow exclaimed before anyone could talk him out of it.

"Shadow, no! Don't leave us!" Amy screamed after him.

"I…we need you," Rouge said, almost too quietly for the others to hear. They looked fearfully around at the temporarily paused, yet near invincible E-100's. All they could do was wait.

Sleet turned in his chair as he felt the presence in the room. "I'm going to kill you," Shadow growled.

"Well that won't help save your friends," Sleet replied calmly.

"Talk," he said through gritted teeth.

"The emeralds are powering Metal Sonic," Sleet said.

"_All_ of them!" Shadow demanded in a shocked and alarmed tone.

Sleet looked hesitantly away then replied, "Uh, well, yes?"

"You've lost your mind! He'll be unstoppable!" Shadow barked.

"_Not_ if the emeralds are conveniently taken from him," Sleet retorted.

"You're crazy!" Shadow said.

"I never shut the compartments. With a hard kick from behind at least some of them will fall out, if not all. Your friends are doomed without the power of the Emeralds, so here's _my_ proposal. You help me get the Emeralds back; I give them to you no questions asked, except that I will keep one Sol and one Chaos Emerald. I can't have you turning super and taking _me_ out too. The power might be just enough to help you at least get away from the E-series, if not beat them," Sleet replied.

They silently looked at each other in the eyes for a moment. "Why?" Shadow finally asked.

"My enemy's enemy is my friend. Though I prefer to go by my enemy's enemy is my enemy, I can't risk it in this case. Eggman may take treachery as a part of everyday life, but _I_ won't stand for it. That worthless hunk of metal had the audacity to turn against me, now he will pay for it. If you win with the emeralds you win, if not then it's no loss to _me_, though I can't say the same for the good Doctor," Sleet replied.

After a moment Shadow said, "Call them off."

"What?" Sleet icily asked.

"If we can't beat them even with the emeralds, and things begin to get, let's just say, _difficult_, call the E-series off," he repeated.

Sleet chuckled then replied, "Of course Mr. Shadow." He stuck out his hand.

Shadow took it, but as they drew apart he said, "I don't believe you."

"You shouldn't. I hardly ever keep my word. Believe whatever you want though. If I'm lying they die either way," Sleet answered. "Metal Sonic is probably attacking the royal family as we speak, or homing in on them. Get us there now."

"You're insane. You'll never be able to take the Emeralds from him," Shadow warned once more.

"Not without you. I knock them out of him from behind…" he began.

"I use Chaos Control and sweep them away before Metal can react," Shadow said with a nod.

"Now you're getting it," Sleet replied with a smirk.

"I'd already had it. Know that it will take more than a simple kick to get them away from him. This will require all our skill. I don't think we'll succeed without the others help," Shadow stated.

"I'm relying on luck. I'm not letting them out. What sort of idiot do you think I am?" Sleet asked.

"You gave the most treacherous robot any of us has ever encountered all the Sol and Chaos emeralds," Shadow retorted.

Sleet opened his mouth to defend himself, but if fell shut once more, eyes widening with the full realization. He scowled, cursing himself in his mind, then replied, "Touché hedgehog. New plan, we get as many as we possibly can through whatever means necessary and hope he doesn't murder us. His priority one is the Council of Four. Treacherous or not, his own longing for revenge and the orders Robotnick gave him are so programmed in him that nothing will remove them."

Shadow wryly smirked. "You hope. Play dead if things get too bad and you might live. All right… Chaos Control!" Shadow declared.


	36. The Final Battle: Council vs Metal

**_Painful Memories_**

(A/N: Well it's a day or two late but it's here. Another chapter looked over by my helper. He did a good job revising parts of it. I hope you enjoy it. Reviews are always welcome. The rest of this story may very well be put up today. Have fun.)

_**The Final Battle: Council of Four vs. Ultra Metal Sonic**_

Hello my babies… Her words resounded through their minds over and over and over. All at once it dawned on them, this moment, this significance, and on realizing it… That was it, the floodgates broke. All at once the triplets were in tears, sobbing uncontrollably. They launched themselves into her desperately, held her in death grips as if they would never let go again! She could take it no more. She screamed with all her long suppressed emotions and gathered her beloved children in her arms holding them like if she let go they would disappear! She wept hysterically, clutching them, fingers digging into their fur painfully. They didn't even notice the hurt.

They couldn't stop. This was their mother, their _mother_! _This_ was the woman who had been forced to give them up to save their lives and their home. _This_ was the woman they had vowed by anything and everything that they would find! _This_ was her, their parent, their protector, their… their lives! She was the one who loved them more than anything! More than life, more than Mobius or Mobodoon, more than the universe! _This_ was the love they had so desperately searched for! _This_ was… what was it? It was everything to them! This moment in time, they never wanted it to stop! They never wanted her to let them go, to stop comforting them, stroking their hair as she had ached to do for so long! They never wanted her to stop showering them with her loving kisses, her words of comfort and promises that everything was all right now, her vows she would never leave them again.

"Sonia, Sonic, Manic!" she said over and over and over through her weeping, apologies, and vows! They never wanted her to stop saying their names, how sorry she was, how long she had pined for them. There was no way they could describe this feeling of unbridled love. No words they could use…

However, it was then that they heard the sound of something coming, the sound of the only thing that could tear them apart now. Sonic was first. His eyes opened wide, his choking breaths catching then sounding fearful, denying that this was what would tear him from his mother's arms. "No…" he gasped. To him this was the sound of death itself! Violently he tore himself from her arms and whirled exclaiming again, "No!"

His family gasped at his reaction. "Sonic, darling what is it?" Aleena instantly questioned as her hands rested on his shoulders and spun him to face her, fear in her eyes. All at once she had her answer. Through the door burst Metal Sonic in all his power! Sonic whirled. Aleena screamed and drew her children back into her. They themselves looked terrified, even Sonic, for never had he seen Metal like _this_.

Aleena backed away with her children. Metal scanned them quickly then said, "The Council of Four has met. Must destroy." It began to fly into the air. It focused on Sonic's hateful gaze, the alarm of his siblings, the desperate fearful protection in the mother, then said, "It is time for you to die."

"Oh yeah? Take this!" Manic shot as he summoned his drums. He instantly tossed the symbols at the bot. They soared across the room, edges harder than diamonds, and sharper than surgical steel. Metal just stood there, and watched. Had he been able to show facial expressions, they would have sworn he was smirking. Two direct hits, one to his neck, the other to his body. Little could describe the looks of fear on the family's faces as they helplessly bounced off, not even so much as scratching the paint. The third symbol, however, had missed by a mile. With reactions and speed superior to sonic himself, it caught the symbol and threw it back with all his strength! It flew across the room at a speed invisible to all but Sonic. It was heading right at him! He could hardly try and dart to the side before it was there. He wasn't fast enough. The symbol slashed his arm deeply. He cried out in pain and clutched it.

"Sonic!" his family exclaimed.

Sonia scowled at the robot saying, "Oh that's it, you're going down!" She touched her medallion, hoping it would work once more. Sure enough it sprang to life. Fire burning in her eyes, she war screamed, as she let out a barrage of fire. When the smoke hid the robots figure, she assumed it destroyed and ceased fire. She recalled her weapon. Panting, "That was easy."

"That's what you think," Sonic hollowly said, watching the smoke expectantly. After but a moment, the robot emerged, laughing hysterically. A cold, evil, metallic laugh that sent chills down the royal's spins.

"Must destroy Council of Four," the robot rattled.

"All right tin head, let's roll," Sonic defiantly replied.

"Rock and roll that is," Manic joked as he began to drum furiously. The room began to quake, causing Metal Sonic to lose his balance. He seemed confused at first, but all at once he seemed to gain his footing. The roof began to collapse. Off to the side chunks of floor were levitating. Manic insured they flew at the robot all at once. Metal Sonic just stood there and watched, waiting for the opportune moment. He charged up his guns and fired! The rocks and roof chunks were obliterated in seconds. If the royal family weren't worried before, then they certainly were now.

"Sonia, Sonic, Manic, attack all together!" their mother ordered. She pulled out a pistol and tossed it to Sonia, knowing the medallion wouldn't work a second time. Aleena drew her sword and it lit up, glowing with energy. All at once the Council of Four attacked, Sonia and Manic shooting from afar, Queen Aleena and Sonic charging into close combat. Sonic could swear he saw Metal smirk again. He felt his blood boil with rage. Furiously he leapt up and spin dashed from above! Aleena, at the same time, ducked low and slashed the bots legs. Bullets from Sonia's pistol bounced off her target like they were rubber. Rocks crumbled over Metal's head like clumps of dirt! Only the sword had any effect on the robot. Metal hissed in pain on contact. Instantly the Ultra Metal knew it was the energy that radiated from the sword, though, rather than the blade itself, that affected him. Thinking quickly, he violently lashed out striking the queen, sending her soaring back to Sonia and Manic with a cry of pain.

"Mom!" Sonic exclaimed, looking back. He noticed movement in the corner of his eye, turning just in time to see Metal preparing a sneak attack. Had he been a millisecond slower, all would have been over for the Blue Blur. He attempted a counter attack but was met with a powerful shield, sending him flying back with a jolt of electricity! He cried out in pain and slid next to his mother.

"Enough with the halfway measures, let's go super spin on him!" Sonia exclaimed, beginning to twirl.

"Right on sis," Sonic agreed as he too began to spin into a tornado. The two joined together as Manic stored his drums. He instantly dove into the twister. Even Aleena began to spin and joined in. The attack was large, powerful, and intimidating. Metal subconsciously took half a step back as he braced for impact. All at once the twister shot towards him, hurling him viciously into the air! The robot beeped in warning, trying to process what was happening. All at once they slammed him into the ground. Mettle cried out in pain. The royals stopped and faced him with victorious smiles. Before they could celebrate, however, the robot staggered to its feet. They gasped in shock on seeing it. Barely even a dent!

"Must destroy hedgehogs," the robot rattled.

"Try this on for size!" Manic shot. The royal family raced at the bot, randomly delivering blows and attacks from all directions, and all angles.

Moving at lightning speeds, Metal Sonic blocked them all without even raising a shield! Only Queen Aleena realized what it was doing. She became terrified suddenly, as the bot met her eyes. It knew she knew. It chuckled. "Children, retreat! He's only toying with us!" Aleena screamed desperately, on seeing the robots glint.

Too late. The robot suddenly seized Sonia and viciously slammed her into the ground. She screamed in pain. Before she fully knew what was happening, she was pinned against the wall, her family, far behind, looking on in terror. Sonic was in action racing at his metal counterpart. The bot simply side stepped, as sonic rammed into the wall, unable to stop in time. Mettle threw Sonia on the ground and began to violently beat her. She desperately tried to block, but soon realized if she kept defending herself like this, her arms would be broken, and then what use would she be? Things were darkening. She could hear blood in her head. Metal Sonic dragging her everywhere, as he continued to beat her, dodging her family's vague attempts to save her. After several failed attempts to rescue her, the robot became over confident and began to under estimate his victim's family. As he turned to avoid a blow from Sonic, Aleena seemly came out of nowhere and tackled him! Sonia fell to the ground barely conscious.

The robot recovered swiftly, before the queen could react, and ran at Manic. Manic desperately attempted to block his attacks, backing away, but Ultra Metal Sonic showed no mercy. In less than a second, he darted around the boy and kicked him violently from behind. Sonic desperately tried to save his brother, blindly charging at Metal full speed. Unfortunately, Sonic was again too slow, the robot just side stepped, sending Sonic into another wall. Ultra Metal Sonic dragged Manic up by the quills and swung him around. Brutally he threw the green hedgehog into the wall making him cry out in pain before slumping to the ground! Manic blinked, and the robot had him once more. This time he threw Manic back towards his family. He ran at the boy, hoping to finish the job, but was stopped by a _very_ ticked off Sonic.

Sonic, enraged, angrily charged at his metallic doppelganger, attacking at speeds only comprehensible to the Ultra robot. Metal Sonic made displeased sounds as he felt himself giving ground to Sonic. All at once, though, that changed. He seized Sonic's arm as Sonic lunged, then spun him around in a twister and sent him flying yet again into a wall! Sonic looked up, though, only to see some of the emeralds in the robot looking as if they were about to fall out. The compartments! They weren't shut! One more strong kick from behind and at least five of the fourteen emeralds would fall out of the metal hedgehog! He'd go from Ultra to Hyper. Maybe then they'd have a chance… However, before Sonic could even fully process the idea, Metal Sonic picked Sonic up and began beating him as he had done with Sonia. Sonic felt his power leaving. He was losing his will to fight! Metal Sonic was going to win!

All at once the robot was tackled from the side, dropping Sonic. Sonic weakly looked up only to see the emeralds loosening more. Seven at least would fall, hopefully. Wait… _mom_! Metal Sonic had turned on the queen and leapt up. He had seized her throat and now held her up off the ground then sent a violent shock throughout her whole being. She screamed in agony! "No! Mom!" Sonic exclaimed as he tried to run for her. Metal Sonic, though, charged up his gun, and before Sonic could gasp he was sent flying back!


	37. The Final Battle: Unexpected Help

_**Painful Memories**_

_**The Final Battle: Unexpected Help**_

Sonic soared across the room and landed on his back, the floor cracking beneath him! He gasped in pain, badly beaten. Manic tried to rise up from his position but couldn't. He wasn't as bad as his brother, but getting there. Sonia lay, fighting consciousness, on the floor, worse off than both of them. Queen Aleena was now desperately trying to struggle from the robots clutches! It was squeezing the life out of her, choking her! All at once she felt an unnatural energy flow through the bots arm, making her gasp then scream in agony.

She did not physically look the part, but compared to the _mother_, the children were nothing. There wasn't a part of her that didn't hurt. The pain kept coming, unending, pulsing through her body with each heartbeat. The aching the robot was delivering to her with his energy, it was as if her were ravaging her, torturing her. Her anguish was both physical _and_ emotional. She had tried to protect her brood, and she was paying for it; but, even now she was serving as a protection, a distraction, for with her struggling, Metal Sonic hadn't focused on finishing the teenagers yet. He found her terror, her pain, her desperation, highly amusing.

Sonia began to stir, eyes fluttering open. Manic saw their mother and cried, "Mom!"

"Run my dears, run!" she choked.

"No!" Sonic replied as he tried to dash at his metal counterpart again. Manic forced himself to his feet and joined his brother. Sonia, her every bone hurting, forced herself up and desperately joined them, feeling as if there was nothing left to lose. Without even trying the robot sent the triplets flying back into the ground. This time they couldn't move. Their bodies were refusing to listen. After all this time this was how it would end, Aleena realized as she began to lose consciousness. No… Sonic, Manic, Sonia… no…!

"Chaos Spear!" a voice shouted. All at once Metal Sonic dropped Aleena and made an agonized sound. Aleena fell to the ground and gasped for air. She looked to her children and weakly forced herself to crawl towards them on her stomach. She had to get them out of here before whatever distraction had happened ended. She managed to get her body to work, managed to stand. Now she was running towards her children with power she never knew she had in her.

Metal Sonic turned, only to see Shadow standing there! "Subject Shadow, how have you come to be here? No matter, you are nothing compared to me with the power of the Emeralds," Metal Sonic rattled.

"Sh-Shadow…?" Sonia asked weakly on hearing this, her mother tenderly helping her up with one arm around her waist and the other under her arms.

"Good old Shads," Sonic wryly said as his mother took his arm.

"What about the others though?" Manic asked fearfully when Aleena turned to take his hand and pull him carefully up.

"Hopefully they're all right. Hurry your three, we have to leave! He has orders to destroy us," Aleena urgently said.

"What about Shadow?" Sonia asked fearfully, as she pointed. Sonic shot her a sharp warning look, not liking how worried she seemed.

Metal Sonic was racing at Shadow! They gasped in alarm. However, Shadow suddenly Chaos Controlled away from Metal Sonic. The Ultra form robot looked around determinedly, but on finding nothing he then turned to focus once more on his goal.

"Must destroy Council of Four," it rattled. Quickly Aleena pushed her children behind her. She would die before she let that creature touch them again. Instead of physically attacking, though, the robot began to charge up his gun arm!

"With the power of all fourteen emeralds we'll be annihilated!" Sonic exclaimed in fear.

"Who would have thought it would end like this? Been nice knowing you sibs, mom," Manic ruefully said.

"We're not beaten yet kids," Aleena reassured as she lovingly brushed back her son's wild quills. Even on the brink of death they felt safe with their mother. They moved closer to her to relish the last feeling.

"Now you die," the robot said as he finished charging up.

Suddenly, though, a voice exclaimed, "That's it!" A figure jumped from the roof delivering a strong kick to the bots back knocking it forward! The family watched in disbelief as seven of the emeralds pitched from the robots body and roll away. One sharp kick; Sonic had been right, and they were never so thankful for it! They looked passed the robot only to see one ally they'd never expected to. "No more playing around," the figure growled.

"_Sleet_!" the triplets exclaimed in complete and total shock. They couldn't believe their eyes!

"Sleet…" Aleena breathed.

Suddenly Shadow was there. He seized every emerald that had fallen from the bot; seven in all. "No!" the robot said as it powered up to shoot the hedgehog. Sleet, though, shot it with a laser pistol breaking its concentration! It looked up only to find Shadow gone. It whirled to Sleet, furious that emeralds had been taken from it. "You!" it yelled as it lunged at the wolf. It hit him sending him back into a wall. Sleet cried out in pain then shook his head to shake off the agony. He gasped on seeing Metal Sonic about to strike! Sleet cried out in fear and swiftly dove to the side, barely avoiding the attack that would certainly have killed him. He drew his own sword and leapt onto the bot stabbing at it. He knew it wouldn't damage Metal Sonic, but it wasn't damage he was going for.

With expert skill he had pried out three more emeralds from the bots back! These he tossed into the air. Shadow was suddenly there, taking them, then striking the robot. He disappeared again as the bot tackled Sleet to the ground painfully! Where was that hedgehog? He stood no chance alone. All at once Shadow stepped in saying, "Chaos Blast!" Taken off guard Metal Sonic flew off of Sleet. Sleet was swiftly up on hands and knees. He growled at his prey. Shadow pounced on the robot at the same time as Sleet. The two pried at the last four emeralds desperately.

Sleet managed to grab one each of the Sol and Chaos emeralds before the bot threw him across the room! He cried out in alarm, then pain as he landed, but he held fast to the two treasures in his hand. Seeing that Shadow was about to take the other two, he leapt up and raced behind the fighting pair, standing by the door. He pulled out a device saying, "Oh hedgehog, we've got the emeralds! Guess what that means! The E-100's are about to be activated again! Better hurry and get to your friends. E-series attack!"

It wasn't Shadow, but Metal Sonic who looked angrily at the wolf. With that distraction Shadow finally pried the last two emeralds from the bot, rendering him normal once more! Sheer luck, both he and the wolf knew it all too well. All at once Shadow was next to the royal family. "You, you made a deal with Sleet, didn't you!" Manic demanded. "How could you leave the others!"

"I didn't," Shadow answered. Looking to the Queen he said, "It's an honor to finally meet you, now I have to go save our friends. Run, if you know what's good for you. He'll hold him off." The next moment he was gone to turn the tides back with the others.

Back in the main computer room the bots had begun to attack again! However, Silver and Tikal had gotten enough of a rest to put up the shields once more! On seeing him appear unexpectedly to them, most of the others were shocked. Rouge, though, said calmly, "Shadow, I knew you'd come back for us."

Shadow harrumphed then displayed the emeralds. "The Chaos and Sol Emeralds, you got them back!" Tails excitedly said.

Blaze instantly seized the Sol Emeralds from him happily. Her happiness fell, though, on counting only six. She looked at Shadow, confused, then asked, "Where is the seventh?"

"Use what we have," Shadow simply said.

"Anything will help us now!" Cream exclaimed as she raced to them. The others quickly joined her. They felt the power of the Emeralds flowing through them as they took hold of the powerful items. They were refreshed, more ready than ever. This time they turned boldly to face the nearly invincible robots.

"Now they will fall. The emeralds power is beginning to wane in them. They are weaker than they started out," Omega said certainly.

Shadow smirked. "Good. Chaos Blast!" he exclaimed as the others divided once more.

Meanwhile, the royal family looked back at Metal Sonic only to see him rise and yell again, "No!" Sleet stood behind him, poised to fight. The robot whirled on him, knowing full well he still held two emeralds, shouting, "Give me those!"

"You will obey me from now on!" Sleet retorted.

"Insolent creature! Surrender!" Metal Sonic insisted.

Looking passed the robot Sleet barked at the temporarily weakened royals, in a voice betraying slight fear for his own well being, "What are you waiting for, run, before I get my senses back and change my mind!"

"Surrender the Emeralds!" Metal Sonic ordered as he suddenly lunged at Sleet. The wolf met the attack dead on with his sword. It damaged the robot but barely.

"Come on!" Sonic said.

"But what about Sleet!" Manic asked.

"Does it matter? This place is going to blow soon anyway if the plan worked!" Sonia yelled.

"But…" Manic began.

"Manic, son, we have to get out of here," Aleena gently said, placing a hand on his shoulder. "He can take care of himself now." Manic looked back at the wolf, seriously doubting it, but going by the past, then relented. Quickly they began to run towards the blocked exit. Sonic was there in less than a second, behind the battling Sleet and Metal Sonic, holding the door open for his family. In seconds the others had dashed passed him and out the door. Sonic looked hesitantly at their enemy. Viciously Sleet managed to kick the robot away from himself.

"What are you waiting for?" Sleet challenged coldly. Sonic looked guiltily away then raced out. He felt as if he was leaving his enemy to his doom, but that would be good, wouldn't it? Sonic looked back, but he couldn't think of it anymore. His family needed him to be there. He ran.

Sleet turned to face the robot once more, worry in his eyes, and he muttered, "_Stupid_, why did I stay? What was I _thinking_? I've got to get out of here." Suddenly, though, the bot attacked. He fought back, but after a few minutes he had been thrown!

Metal Sonic raced over and seized the single Chaos and Sol Emeralds. He placed them inside of him, longing for their power. He laughed then took aim at Sleet. He charged up the gun arm, but all at once he lowered it, and in a typically Sonic gesture, he wagged his finger while tsking. Metal then said, "Must destroy Royal family. I will deal with you later." The next second he was gone.

"Oh no you don't. I'm not through with you yet," Sleet muttered. "I _hate_ hedgehogs, metal or otherwise." He drew out a communication device for the speakers.


	38. The Final Battle: Tides Turned

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: Last installment of the Final Battle Saga. To be followed by last chapter.)

_**The Final Battle: The Tides Have Turned**_

The Teams fought like never before against the bots attacking them. Shadow's Chaos Blast had weakened them significantly. As the emerald's powers were growing weaker in the bots, they were growing stronger for the others. Silver used all of his skills to wipe out as many as he could. Blaze used only the most violent of her attacks against their enemies. Tikal herself had thrown all thoughts of peace away and focused her energy's on the battle. They had divided the robots amongst themselves subconsciously, so that for every one of them, there were six or seven robots to be defeated. Slowly but surely the E-series was losing! Already thirty were gone! They could hardly dare to believe it!

Joy, however, was short lived when suddenly the remaining robots seemed to collect themselves. They began ganging up and fighting harder. Gradually but assuredly the heroes felt themselves being forced back! "No, no, no, no, no!" Jet exclaimed frantically as they, little by little, lost ground.

"What are we gonna do mates!" Marine exclaimed in fear.

"Say our goodbyes," Shade grimly replied.

Suddenly, though, a voice spoke over the speakers ordering, "E-series stand down!" All at once the bots froze.

The group gasped in disbelief. "Is that _Sleet_?" Espio asked in shock.

Shadow smirked, silently grateful and relieved for his temporary ally's rescue, saying, "Betrayal doesn't sit well with him."

"But to make him turn hero for a day?" Wave asked in surprise.

"Even Eggman has teamed up with us before. The enemy of my enemy is my friend or my enemy," Shadow simply said, quoting the wolf's favorite saying. They looked at each other then nodded in understanding.

"Yeah, sure, but I'll bet he doesn't expect us to break down Eggman's shields and destroy his bosses computer," Vector said with a twinkle. "Omega, go to it!"

"With pleasure," the robot replied. He instantly tapped into the shield and went to work hacking into it. In moments it was down. Tails raced to the controls and began working his magic; Wave, Espio, and Omega watching him closely and offering help as they had once before.

"Got it!" Tails suddenly exclaimed. "As soon as this computer blows, this place is going down!" They raced back to the others in the middle victoriously. Suddenly an explosion was heard! The first minor computer had been destroyed!

Aleena and her children ran desperately, Sonic holding both Sonia and Manic's hands, Sonia and Manic in turn holding their mother's hands. "In here!" Sonic suddenly said, making a sharp turn. He stopped then raced back and shut the door. Suddenly they heard an explosion. It was followed by another, then another, and five more in sequence, shaking the whole fortress and causing them to lose their balance then fall. The emergency red light started blinking, the alarm sounding, indicating that the fortress was in deep trouble. The roof began to crumble with another explosion, the roar of yet another falling fortress sounding around them.

This chamber, though, soon became slightly more stable. They managed to stand up once more. "_Wow_, this is a big room!" Sonia exclaimed looking around the almost empty area where Shadow, Sonic, and Silver had fought Eggman once.

"Why here bro? We're sitting ducks if Metal Sonic catches us," Manic asked.

"Escape pods," Aleena answered for Sonic, pointing ahead at them.

"Hopefully Sleet can hold him back long enough," Sonic said. "Wow, did I just put my life in _Sleet's_ hands?" he asked in disbelief.

"I can't believe Sleet _helped_ us!" Manic exclaimed. "Why did he do it?"

"Manic, there's no time to think on it, just run!" Sonia said. "The sooner we're gone the better."

"Right, hold on sibs," Sonic said. He grabbed their hands again. Sonia and Manic once more took their mother's, then Sonic ran full speed towards the pods. Suddenly, though, from the roof dropped Metal Sonic!

He landed right between Aleena and her children throwing them apart! Sonia and Manic lost hold of their mother's hands. The triplets screamed in fear as they were broken apart and sent flying in three different directions! Queen Aleena simply fell then backed fearfully from the robot.

Manic ended up closest to the escape pods, Sonia flew to the right and Sonic to the left. They shook if off then gasped as they looked back to their mother who was now separated from them by Metal Sonic Class Two!

"Mom!" Sonic cried. "Hold on!"

Aleena, however, knew that there was only moments left. The roof of this room was weakening, the red light flashing more than ever, the sirens blaring louder as the whole ship quaked. Calmly she looked at all her children. Deliberately she drew her sword. Firmly she called, "Children, get into the escape pod! I'll join you soon!"

Instantly they sensed something was off. "What, no way! We won't leave you mom!" Manic replied.

"Manic do as I say! Program the pod for Earth! Sonia, you have to break the restraints! They must be malfunctioning since they won't open! Sonic… run," she dictated.

"No!" the three cried.

"I love you my darling children!" she assured. "I'll be there soon!"

"Subject Sonic is not permitted to leave," Metal Sonic rattled. With that he blindly fired backwards at them. Sonic gasped and ran out of the way. Aleena did not wait for it to go any farther. She raised her sword then ran at Metal Sonic with a vicious battle cry!

As her blade connected with Metal Sonic's desperate shield, she ordered, "Sonic, get your siblings and go! I'll be fine!"

"No…" Sonic began.

A piece of roof fell suddenly, and Manic barely moved in time, exclaiming, "Whoa!"

Sonia ran towards him, but suddenly she heard another piece falling. She gasped, looking up as she ran, and knew she couldn't make it. "Sonic!" she screamed.

Sonic gasped on seeing her predicament and Manic, dodging falling debris as he ran for the pod. They needed him. He couldn't lose them again. "Hold on Sonia!" Sonic cried as he ran for her. He scooped his running sister into his arms, barely getting her out of the way. "Manic, I'm coming bro!" he called. He came up beside his brother. Sonia reached out grabbing Manic's arm. The three saw the roof by the pod collapsing!

Sonic surged ahead as fast as he could. Sonia barely had time to tear off the restraints before they were forced to dive inside. They turned with gasps as the entrance was blocked. Their mother wouldn't be able to make it! "Mom!" the three screamed. The debris, though, blocked them in. Sonia tried to move it, but despite her strength she couldn't!

Aleena desperately fought against Metal Sonic, distracting him from her children as well as she could. As she continuously blocked the robots blows and bullets and blasts, she ordered, "Manic, program it to take off _now_!"

"Not without you! Please not without you!" Manic begged through the tears in his eyes, the tears threatening his siblings' eyes as well.

"Sweethearts, I'll be fine, go!" she cried through lingering tears of her own. She sliced at the robot, but his shields went up. He then violently struck her, sending her stumbling away.

"Manic, at least program the pod to fly away! As soon as she's in we can go with the press of a button!" Sonia declared. Manic hesitated a moment then nodded. Sonia turned to Sonic who was desperately trying to move the rock. He'd never felt so helpless in his life. She tried to help, but it was apparent it wouldn't be moved. "Do you think she'll make it Sonic?" she fearfully asked her brother, in a way begging for assurance.

He could offer none. "I don't know," he meekly replied.

"I hope the others are faring better than us," Manic worriedly said. "Got it! It's set to go as soon as mom's with us." He then turned to help his siblings try and move the debris as they watched their mother battling impossible odds, completely unable to help her. She was alone.

Aleena flew at Metal Sonic, blade poised to kill. With strength born of desperation she slashed and stabbed, but Metal Sonic was far too quick. He was there one moment then gone the next. She spun determinedly towards the escape pod only to see Metal Sonic right there in front of her! The bot chuckled. She gasped. Before she could think, Metal Sonic had charged up his gun and fired!

Instinctively Queen Aleena threw herself to the side trying to avoid it, but the shock wave caught her. It sent her flying back with a cry of pain! She rolled, losing her sword, then lay meekly on her stomach upon the ground gasping, eyes closed. "Mother!" her children screamed, forgetting the block and reaching for her though it was useless; but she could go no more. She was exhausted, too tired, too weak. She had lost, this she knew, but at least her babies would escape. A mother murdered in front of her children, she bitterly, disgustedly, thought. She forced herself to tune out their pleading voices.

She heard the Metal footsteps clanking towards her, the robotic chuckle, again. Her eyes fluttered open only to see the bot aiming at her head. Meekly she tried to rise one last time, eyes shut tightly in pain. This was it. Suddenly, though, she heard running. She heard Metal Sonic shoot, she heard a slide, a leap and land, then she heard the sound of missile hitting shield! Could it be? No! Impossible! Her eyes flew open, and to her shock, there in front of her, actually _protecting_ her, was Sleet!

"You!" she gasped.

He shoved Metal Sonic back with a vicious cry. Now standing he looked back at her answering, "You were expecting someone else?" He drew his sword and attacked Metal Sonic with both blade and skill! He finally shoved Metal Sonic down then ordered, "Metal Sonic, cease attack sequence!"

Metal Sonic rose then metallically clanked, "Subject Sleet the Wolf; rank General to Dr. Ivo Eggman Robotnick; status traitor, refuses to kill subject Aleena, subject Sonic Underground; conclusion, destroy."

"Oh no you don't! You are under _my_ orders! You will obey _me_! Metal Sonic, stand down!" Sleet retorted. He gasped as Metal Sonic shot at him. He barely managed to bring up his shield in time. "Hmm, I see what Eggman meant when he mentioned betrayal," Sleet remarked. "Fine, let's do this the hard way." With that he ran at the bot with his sword, attacking viciously!

They exchanged strikes and blocks. Aleena watched in surprise, but soon she felt adrenaline shoot through her on watching how he battled. Longing to fight for her children she instantly seized her own sword from the ground then leapt up to join the bounty hunter in the attack! He glanced at her, vaguely surprised, then smirked coldly and said, "Aleena, it's been awhile since we last fought together."

"So it has," she replied icily yet gratefully. Metal Sonic was slowly losing ground to the duo. Suddenly Sleet, finally catching an opening, checked him into a wall brutally! The bots eyes dimmed, but they sensed it was only temporary, at least _he_ did. He rushed to the bot and took the two emeralds. He seized Aleena's hand dragging her towards the escape pod and the outstretched arms of her children. Sonia, Sonic, and Manic turned their attention back to the blockage trying to move it once more. With Sleet and Queen Aleena helping, this time they managed. They were about to race out when Sleet thrust their mother inside with them!

Sonic knelt on her right side holding her tightly. He couldn't believe how close they'd come to losing her so soon after finding her again! Manic too was on her right and clinging to her desperately, fully grasping the idea that she was really there, she was all right. Sonia was on her left cuddling her and silently crying in relief. Just like when they were babies, she realized, tears coming to her own eyes. She herself couldn't believe how close she'd come to losing them again. The triplets looked fearfully at Sleet as if they were children about to be scolded, and the now out of commission Metal Sonic. They were in a state of shock. Why had he done this for them? He would just go back to trying to kill them _anyway_.

"Oh how cute, the happy royal family back together again," Sleet sarcastically said. The whole fortress suddenly shook violently making him fall. Just then the biggest explosion they had heard yet rang out. The fortress began to tilt, a tumbling motion becoming apparent. Sleet looked back in fear. He knew instantly what it had been. He _knew_ that sparing the other heroes was a bad idea. The fear was only intensified when Metal Sonic began to rise as well! He clambered to his feet and faced the royal family ordering, "Go!"

"What!" the triplets asked in shock.

"What about you?" Sonia asked.

"And, why should _you_ care again? My getaway is close enough," Sleet replied.

"Sleet, you'll never make it!" Manic exclaimed.

"Nack and Dingo were, uh, kind of forcibly launched off," Sonic said.

"Of course, why am I not surprised? Then I guess that's too bad for me," Sleet growled.

"Come with us!" Aleena suddenly begged.

He was taken off guard by the sudden outburst, but quickly he fought back the rush of emotions and self-preservation, answering, "No time now to exchange our sweet, sweet nothings Aleena. You think I'd go only to be arrested, tried for treason, and then executed? No… Not this time your majesty. Besides, being cramped in a little ball surrounded by hedgehogs does _not_ appeal to me," Sleet answered. With that he tossed them the last two emeralds, sealed the escape pod, and launched it before the family could react!

They saw him turn to face Metal Sonic. They saw the robot race right across from him and blast him without a moment's hesitation. Sleet cried out in pain, in terror, and flew backwards and over the edge out of sight into a seemingly endless drop! "No!" Aleena screamed, her children looking shocked and mortified. Metal Sonic, seemingly satisfied that the pesky wolf was gone, looked after them and decided it wasn't worth it. He then flew away.

The fortress continued its plunge towards the Earth. It began to blaze with fire like a meteor. She pulled her children to her, shielding their eyes from the object. The pod continued quickly towards Earth, far from the danger of the soon to be decimated ship.

It was as the timer on the main computer read five seconds that the rest of the teams had looked around nervously at the dying Flying Egg Fortress. "Time to go," Shadow had declared. He took the Chaos Emeralds then said, "Chaos Control!" With that the group was transported away.


	39. Return Home

_**Painful Memories**_

(A/N: So here it is, the final chapter. I hope to continue doing stories like this too. Near the end one theory of what the incident was is explained. Norcon72, the one who helped with the battle scenes, came up with an explanation that I had never thought of but really was close to what I envisioned. Let me take it down word for word too. I do _not_ take to the comic theory of alternate dimensions and multiple Sonic's at all. I actually really, really dislike it. Doesn't mean I can't write it though. If requests are made for stories I allow myself to broaden out. Anyway, enjoy this last chapter and remember the note at the end.)

_**Return Home**_

They found themselves back in the yard of their meeting place. They looked around worriedly to check if everyone was there. "Hey, where's Sonia?" Espio asked, suddenly fearful, his anger towards her quickly dissolving into panic.

"And Manic!" Tikal cried.

"Sonic and his family will be here soon. They _have_ to be," Amy said firmly, not daring to believe anything else.

No sooner had she finished her sentence when they heard the incoming pod. They all looked up. It crashed into the ground, flying open and ejecting the royal family! Manic flew out, half-flipping by catching himself on his hands then pushing off to land on his feet. "All right!" he exclaimed.

"Manic!" Tikal exclaimed relieved. She ran to him. He caught her in his arms with pleasant surprise.

"Sonic spin jumped out of the pod landing on his feet. "Sonic!" Amy screamed happily. He caught her as she launched into him.

"I'm okay Amy," he insisted in an annoyed tone. He half-heartedly tried to shove her away, but when she wouldn't be moved he simply held her back.

Sonia flew out and neatly rolled on the ground. She stood distastefully, saying, "Blech, dirt. I _hate_ being dirty!"

"Hey, you make dirt look good," Espio said in obvious relief.

Sonia blushed then grinned asking hopefully, "You're not mad at me anymore?"

He suddenly seized her in a hug and replied, "No."

"I'm sorry, for whatever I did," she said sincerely. He frowned coldly, but Silver shook his head firmly. Espio decided to let it slide.

Aleena, who had pulled off a simple front flip landing perfectly, watched her children reunite with their friends like that and felt a pang. "Thank goodness you're all safe!" Vanilla exclaimed as she went to the group with Big. She joyfully reunited with her daughter. Cream struggled away soon enough to go to her friends. Vanilla watched her lovingly. She then saw Aleena and went over to her. However, she noticed a strange expression on her friend's face. Her grin fell to a frown. "Aleena?" she asked.

Aleena smiled sadly, replying, "Let's leave them alone and go inside. I have so much to tell you."

"All right," Vanilla worriedly agreed, sensing something off.

They entered the house and sat. The rabbit turned on the television only to see a breaking news broadcast. "Reporting live from Station Square. There have been reports coming in regarding the uninhabited island off the shores of our fair city, about a large unidentified object crashing into the forest. Sources fear it may be another of Doctor Eggman Robotnick's attempts for world domination, though they say it appeared as if it had been badly damaged, very likely fallen from space. As to whether there are any fatalities…"

Before it could continue Aleena sharply ordered with angry tears threatening her eyes, "Turn it off."

Vanilla instantly obeyed, now _knowing_ something was wrong, then said in worry as she took her friend's hands in her own, "Now tell me Aleena dear, what happened?"

After a moment of looking down miserably at the floor, Aleena answered, "Sleet… Sleet is dead. He died saving us…"

Vanilla gasped then shook her head sympathetically. "Oh Aleena…" she said.

Aleena drew a shaky breath then continued, "If by some chance he survived, his life will be forfeit when he faces Eggman. He will be executed for failure." Vanilla looked out the window in shock. "But what do I care anymore? I had come to hate everything about him, and he hated everything I was. I don't know why I'm acting like this over that monster, maybe gratitude?"

Vanilla pursed her lips then moved closer to her friend and put a hand on her shoulder seriously asking, "What was he to you, truly?"

Aleena bit her lip in frustration then gazed out the window at the children. After a long moment she replied slowly, solemnly, "He was a captor, then a friend, then a lover, then a husband… he was a wrongly accused victim, then a memory, then a traitor, then an enemy, a deceitful creature."

"Now?" Vanilla asked.

Aleena closed her eyes, tears threatening to fall, and answered, "Now… he is nothing but a memory once more. An enemy and a remembrance."

"What was he before… his-his death? You know, before the incident and up until…" she looked to the TV "…until this?" Vanilla said.

There was a long silence. "A longed for regret," Aleena finally hissed. Vanilla nodded sadly then hugged her friend.

Shadow watched from his position in the shadows. So the wolf was as good as dead huh? He wondered if he really had died from the fall or if he, by some miracle, was saved, only to be executed. Maybe he should look into this. He had come to hold a begrudging respect for Sonic's old enemy, especially since he'd proved himself to be far more of a villain than he'd let on to Sonic and his siblings so long ago. Besides, with the details he knew now, about him and the Queen…

Sleet could come in handy to his team, even as an enemy, or at least him. One thing was for sure, if Sonic ever found out he wouldn't be so watchful of Shadow. From information would stem denial, burning hatred, and false accusations. Yes, he would definitely look into the wolf's fate. This could be good for him in the long run, and if not it wouldn't kill him to do a good deed. "Chaos control," he whispered, as he transported to the island mentioned in the broadcast.

Eggman had been stuck on the fortress as it went down. He cried out in alarm as he desperately tried to hold onto something solid. The desk was bolted down! He seized it, clinging onto it for dear life. "Computer, initiate emergency landing!" he cried out to the one computer left, the one that had been in the room where he'd found Sleet pacing when he had first gone to him for help; the one he used as his _own_ office now.

"Initiating," the computer agreed. Emergency thrusters appeared outside the ship and started up, trying to slow the fall of the craft, though they wouldn't be able to stop it. The decent began to slow down, shields outside went up, as well as every safety measure Eggman had installed in case of something like this. It was still falling fast, but with all the precautions he had taken it hopefully wouldn't be a lethal impact for _him_. He couldn't care less what happened to Sleet, Dingo, and Nack. The E-100's he could rebuild easily enough, Metal Sonic was hopefully destroyed, that worthless robot.

"Team Vile!" Eggman cursed to the sky. Oh they would pay for this! He'd warned Sleet not to fail. The impact came right then. He cried out in alarm and prayed the restraints from the safety default held him. Things were chaotic for a bit as everything settled, but soon all was quiet once more. Eggman pushed debris from him and furiously yelled, "Rrrrr, Sleet!"

Sleet had turned, after launching the royal family off, to face Metal Sonic dead on. He hardly had time to gasp before the robot shot him, throwing him over the edge of the platform towards the unseen metal ground far below! "Help!" he cried naturally, though he knew there was none. The pain from the blast was still ripping through him. He thanked his lucky stars it wasn't a laser or a bullet, since he didn't feel blood, but then almost laughed as he realized he was about to die anyway.

Suddenly, though, he heard the sound of a vehicle nearing and a voice cry, "Hold on mate!" All at once his decent was stopped.

Dazedly he opened his eyes and held his head. "Am I dead yet?" he groaned. "Huh!" he exclaimed. All at once he noticed that he was in Dingo's arms! "Dingo!" he exclaimed in shock. He looked down only to see Fang looking worriedly at him. "Nack!"

"The one and only," Nack replied.

Turning to face Dingo he yelled, "Put me down you muffin brain!"

"Sorry Sleet," Dingo quickly apologized as he put him down.

"That's better," Sleet growled. Focusing on the present he demanded, "How! Sonic said you two had been forcibly launched!"

"There's gratitude for you," Nack said jokingly as they dodged the falling debris.

"Sleet don't need anyone, remember," Dingo replied.

"All right, thank you, now answer me!" Sleet ordered impatiently, insincerely, heart rate still flying from the near death experience.

"Easy. I hacked the control panel and Dingo and I rode the 'Marvelous Queen' back to this ship. We tracked you with the radar and appeared just as you were sent flying over the edge by that crazy robot, though we _should_ have taken off the moment the place started falling," Fang replied.

"I knew it was a bad idea to use anything with Sonic's name in it," Dingo stated.

"I could kiss you two!" Sleet exclaimed as he fully realized, when he looked down, how close to death he'd come.

"Hey mate, since when are you…" Dingo began.

"Don't, even," Sleet venomously warned. Turning to Nack he said, "You are officially a welcome addition to the team, no questions asked." Fang smirked.

"So, you and the Queen…" Fang began.

Sleet stiffened then scowled at Dingo saying, "He talked did he? Oh well. As for the queen, don't mention that hedgehog to me ever again. The very thought of her infuriates me." Dingo and Fang exchanged glances over Sleet's head. He scowled icily.

They flew out of the base only to find themselves in Earth's atmosphere again. They saw reverse thrusters coming out and pushing away, slowing the base's decent. They saw the isolated island nearing and followed the base as it made its landing. "Hey, it ain't too bad," Dingo said.

"Eggman will have it fixed within a month or two," Fang agreed as they cautiously flew inside once they were sure it was safe.

Shadow appeared just in time to see the trio enter the ship. So Sleet was alive after all. That lucky son of a gun had cheated death. His respect for the team in general went up yet again. He watched robots begin to unload from the base and begin working. He raced towards the ship and followed the 'Marvelous Queen' stealthily.

They were looking around for any sign of life. Just then they heard Eggman's furious voice yell Sleet's name. Sleet cringed and whimpered. "He's alive!" Dingo exclaimed.

"And here I thought he was finally done for," Sleet groaned in disappointment. "I was so looking forward to a body recovery mission. The thought was music to my ears."

"I thought you hated music Sleet," Dingo said.

Sleet looked reproachfully at him and answered, "_My_ kind of music Dingo."

"You have a kind? What is it?" Dingo asked. Sleet slapped his own forehead.

Fang landed quickly and leapt off with the other two. "Quick, we still have a chance to save Sleet's life and our own! Let's get out of here before he realizes we're around. We can run from him and he'll never be the wiser, leave Eggman behind once and for all."

"All right by me; I don't wanna face _that_ bloke again," Dingo agreed.

They looked to Sleet, but to their surprise, he, the most treacherous of them all, never said a word, only looked at them defeated. "Uh, Sleet, are you deaf? We can get you out of here," Nack repeated.

After a moment Sleet asked grimly, "Do you honestly believe that it will be that easy?" They looked at each other confused. He rolled his eyes with an exasperated sigh then continued, "Dr. Robotnick isn't stupid. He can track us without a problem. He'll keep chasing us until he finds us."

"If we don't get out of here _you're_ a dead man, _Dingo's_ a slave, and _I'm_ exiled!" Nack protested.

"Yeah, and I don't wanna be a body guard," Dingo whined.

"You two can run then. It's _me_ he's focused on," Sleet reproachfully shot. Seeing their uncertainty he sighed. "Not to worry though, I'll talk my way out of it like always and we'll be fine," Sleet reassured.

The other two looked at him, Dingo almost ready to believe; but Fang, who was reading him, soon replied, "Liar."

Dingo's expression instantly turned from relaxing to fearful again. "Sleet, I don't think you're getting out of this one," Dingo worriedly said, deciding to believe Fang.

As if to prove the dingo's statement, Eggman suddenly flew around the corner in his eggmobile, robots behind him. "There you are," Eggman said, voice dangerously low and trembling in fury. The trio gasped and backed away.

"D-Dr. Robotnick, we're so glad you're all right sir!" Sleet swiftly said.

"Seize them!" Eggman practically screamed at the bots. They cried out in alarm as the robots instantly moved in. Fang and Sleet were lifted from the ground and brought forward.

Dingo felt a javelin from an egg pawn poke him and cried out, "Yeow!" Looking at it he nervously said, "Watch it with that thing." It moved towards him. Dingo gasped then nervously backed up until he felt himself bump into the egg mobile. He gasped again then whirled to look at it.

"Sleet, what did I say about failure?" Eggman asked.

"Unacceptable?" Sleet replied in a questioning tone.

"Exactly, and what did I say would happen if you failed?" Eggman pressed. Sleet swallowed.

"Come on Dr. Eggman, it wasn't our fault! Metal Sonic went berserk! We had to deal with him first! You even said…" Nack protested, as he tried to struggle.

"Silence!" Eggman cut off. "Oh when I'm through with you three you'll wish you'd never been born!"

"B-b-b-b-but…" Dingo began.

"Enough! Take them to the robotacizer!" Eggman ordered.

"I thought you said you'd outgrown it for the most part!" Sleet exclaimed. The robots looked equally confused. Eggman suddenly realized that he had never actually given that order for a long time.

"Perfect, I'm in my old state of mind now. You see what stress you've put me under!" Eggman whined. "Take them to the room off my office," Eggman said.

"You mean _my_ office?" Sleet asked, still ticked that Eggman had taken over his hideaway. Eggman scowled at him. Sleet innocently grinned with a nervous chuckle.

"Robotacizing would have been a preferable end to the alternate," Fang said to Sleet. Sleet shrugged helplessly. At this point he was no longer sure.

They found themselves in the room in mere moments. Terror was on each of their faces, but as Sleet looked around he forced himself to calm down. He breathed in a deep breath then let it out in a resigned sigh. There was no way out. Oh well, maybe he would be as lucky as he had all those years ago when he was sentenced to die on the words 'I do.' As if, his mind told him.

Roughly the robots dragged him forward then threw him onto the ground. He turned then stood up only to see a line-up of robots facing him! He gasped and backed away only to feel a wall behind him. Death by firing squad, he realized, as terror gripped his heart again. He looked at his teammates who were horror stricken; fearing what would happen to them once he was gone. Sleet turned back to face the bots. All at once a feeling of calm came over him. He stood up straight then narrowed his eyes defiantly at them, scowling rebelliously.

"Ready…" Eggman began to give the order. Sleet thought he heard a voice. "Aim…" This was it. The voice must have been imagination. "Fire!" Sleet closed his eyes tightly as the bullets rang out. All at once, though, he was gone right in front of their eyes!

Eggman looked around in confusion. It was then that his eyes found the stunned wolf behind him next to his teammates, looking at his hands, not believing he was alive. "Shadow?" Sleet gasped in stunned disbelief. Nack and Dingo, now free of the bots, shot him a surprised look.

He _hadn't_ been hearing things when he heard a voice whisper over the bullets, "Chaos Control." He _hadn't_ been hearing things when, as Eggman gave the order, he heard a voice say from somewhere hidden, "Luckily for you I've come to respect you, so just this once I'm going to help you, and hope that in the long run I'm not disappointed with battles against you." A challenge? The black hedgehog had saved him because he wanted a _challenge_? He sensed there may be more to it, but what did _he_ care? As long as he was alive; now to stay that way.

"Robots…!" Eggman began.

Quickly, though, Sleet said, "Are you sure you really want to do that your greatness?"

Eggman paused a moment then replied, "Why wouldn't I?"

"Come now Doctor, you know as well as I do that that only reason the plan failed was because Metal Sonic turned traitor. All fourteen emeralds were too much for him to resist, and of course with that power behind him I needed help. I called on Shadow. Of course his help came at a price. But then, better alive than dead, right Doctor?"

"What are you getting at?" Eggman asked.

"We were this close to killing off your enemies! A few more minutes and we would have succeeded if you programmed Metal Sonic the right way! Of course with him turning on us we had to become the, ugh, heroes! You have never come that close to destroying Sonic before, have you!" Sleet pressed.

"I've come close!" Eggman protested.

"Admit it. With our help it's the closest you've ever come. The only one to ever destroy him was Mephiles apparently, and even _that_ was reversed! _I_ could have ended it permanently with an order!" Sleet barked. "You need us your rotundness. You yourself have said we four are unstoppable. We're not robots who can be reprogrammed to turn on you! Dingo has more strength in one arm than any of your metallic helpers including individual E-series bots! Nack has the know how and thieving skills to get anywhere and everywhere without trouble as well as the ability to help improve your robots! And I… I am a born leader. I'm not stupid enough to try and betray you…" Inwardly the trio laughed. At least not enough to let him realize he was being betrayed. "I'm clever enough to know when to run, when to fight. I never disobey an order of yours…" Another inward laugh. "…and if I disagree with you I do it tactfully. I hate those hedgehogs just as much as you if not more! Sir, I'm the only one you can trust enough to help carry out your plans. Can you really afford to get rid of me?"

Eggman's mind whirled a mile a minute. Every quality Sleet had explained were the reasons he had gone to him in the first place. He was right. Robots were unreliable, treacherous. He wasn't, though he was iffy on believing the wolf would never betray him. His hate for the royal family, though, _did_ rival Eggman's own. Truthfully, this _was_ the closest he had ever come to destroying not only Sonic, but all the others as well, and it was through Sleet's plan. One order, a few more seconds, and he would have won. Metal Sonic had foiled him again, forcing his allies to join with heroes. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. The saying played over and over again. Finally he relented. "All right, I'll give you another chance," Eggman declared. "We will rise another day Team Vile. As soon as this fortress is built we'll be back with another plan." The three gave a collective sigh of relief and mentally congratulated each other through eye contact.

As soon as he saw that the matter was settled, Shadow Chaos Controlled away. He appeared inside the house where the others were wondering where he was. On seeing him Silver exclaimed, "Shadow, where did you go?"

Shadow looked passed him, simply walking towards the queen. Stopping in front of her he said, "Your highness, I went to check on Eggman's fortress to scout out the threat, and to see if anything made it. Eggman and the robots are as ready as ever, and most importantly, Sleet is alive." On hearing this she gasped in shock, covering her mouth.

"What, how! We saw him fall! There was no way he could have survived!" Sonic exclaimed.

"Oh no? It just so happens that Nack and Dingo found a way to escape the pod and save him in the nick of time.

"Not that it matters since he's set to be executed anyway," Vanilla ruefully said. Aleena, along with the others, relaxed her tensed muscles.

"Not anymore. He smooth talked his way out of _that_ without batting an eye," Shadow replied. Aleena once more stiffened with the heroes.

"No-way," Sonia said in disbelief.

Manic hesitated a moment then said, "Actually, believe it or not I'm kinda glad he got away."

"What!" Sonia and Sonic exclaimed.

"Well look at it this way, he saved our lives, twice, and the lives of our friends too," Manic defended.

"Well, yeah, but only to help _himself_," Sonia replied.

"True, but we should give him some credit," Sonic said after thinking a moment.

"I guess. Mother would be dead if not for him," Sonia finally agreed, looking lovingly at her long lost mother. Aleena smiled at her daughter and ruffled her hair. Sonia hugged her.

"My enemy's enemy is my friend, or my enemy," Aleena quoted in a reminiscing voice, distant memories playing in her head.

She'd heard that before, his favorite saying. Shadow, Silver, and Espio sensed it. They remembered all they'd heard then looked at her seriously. She caught the gazes, and in that moment she knew that they had discovered her secret. Her mouth dropped and she looked frantically at Vanilla. The rabbit had picked it up too. Aleena looked back at the three, eyes seeming to say, "You can never tell them."

Their own eyes appeared to reply, "We didn't plan to." She sighed deeply in relief.

The atmosphere seemed to darken suddenly. Vanilla soon cleared her throat and declared, "Aleena, I told you I was going to look into the incident…?"

Aleena instantly fixed her with a hopeful gaze. "Go on," she said.

"Well, I _think_ I _may_ have finally figured out what it was," she said.

They all gasped. "What! Tell us! What happened!" the triplets and Knuckles demanded.

"Believe it or not I know how to use fancy computers. I visited Tails workshop with Big and I… well, let's just I've found out how it may have happened," Vanilla hesitantly said.

"Go on Ms. Vanilla. It could come in handy in the future," Vector said.

She hesitated once more then finally answered, "I don't know how to explain it, but I'll show you." Wave instantly handed the rabbit a portable computer device. Vanilla examined it a moment then began to press buttons. After a long moment, in which everyone gathered around her, she finally said, "Here we go. These reading, they seem suspicious, not normal. See what you make of them." She handed it back to a skeptical Wave.

However, on seeing the readings Wave gasped. "No way!" she exclaimed.

"What?" Tails demanded flying up to look over her shoulder. He too gasped on seeing it.

"Well, what might have happened?" Silver demanded.

"Oh boy, hold onto your hats, because only a handful of you will understand it," Wave said. She cleared her throat then continued, "On an atomic level, matter is made up of almost entirely empty space. It's highly possible that this space could be filled with matter completely undetectable from our perspective. An entire world could exist in this space and we would never even know it. From _their_ perspective as well, in Mobius, we are nothing but empty space. In theory, if space was warped just right, like with the incident, _if_ we assume we're correct, one's body could be shifted from this plane to another without them even knowing it. Now it's not likely that an anomaly like this could stay open for long, and would close soon after only to open up elsewhere. There is also no way to predict how big or small it would reappear. It could be nanometers across to kilometers across. Potentially, it could warp entire cities, entire worlds, to wherever it pleased."

"You're right Wave! Mobius could be right above our heads right now and we wouldn't know unless the incident happened again and the dimension opened right on us sucking us away, or even taking just one of us. A burst of light... It's a complicated theory, and hard to understand, but that's virtually the only possibility. Hardly anything else would explain it," Tails supported.

"My brain hurts," Big complained.

"You think you're the only one? Ouch." Vector replied.

"_I'm_ even having a hard time wrapping my head around it," Sonia said in awe.

Jet grimaced at the thought of trying to work it out again. Before they could begin to discuss their discovery he quickly said, "Let's not think of this now so soon after we were all almost killed." They looked at him and hesitated. "So, you guys said you were a band? Let's hear you play," Jet challenged, desperate to swing their minds from it all.

"Oh you got it man," Manic agreed, instantly summoning his set and forgetting about the incident. Sonia looked uncertainly at her medallion but tapped it. The piano appeared. She sighed in relief.

"Uh, news flash sibs, I don't have a guitar anymore," Sonic said. As if to prove the point he touched his medallion. Nothing happened.

"Hold on," Vanilla said. She left the room then came back. "This isn't very good, but it will do," he declared. Sonic grinned then grabbed it.

"All right! One, two, one, two, three, four!" he counted down. With that the triplets began to play. Eggman and Team Vile would return to try again, this they knew, but for now they only lived in the moment.

* * *

(Final Notes: To be followed by-The Sleet Aleena Chronicles: Installment 1. Aka The Bounty Hunter And The Queen.

It's done finally. Honestly I think it would be interesting to see his siblings brought into the games like this. Well, not exactly like this, though that would flatter any author, but something along the lines. Sadly chances are low. I hope you all enjoyed it. Feedback is welcome. Feel free to tell me what you thought of pairings. I'm usually open to them and may even work with them though I have my own favorites. See if you can guess which ones. I'd like to see more stories about some of them, especially Sleet and Aleena. Seriously, if you watch Sonic Underground and look for hints, your mind will twist a whole bunch of occurrences that happen into hints. I couldn't believe it when I first started looking just for the heck of it. However, some author's on this site are stuck in their own pairings to an annoying level. That's why I like to make mention of other couples in my stories.

The Love Angles that I tried to work with, no matter how little they were mentioned were: Knuckles, Rouge, Sonia; Knuckles, Shade, Rouge; Knuckles, Shade, Sonia; Knuckles, Shadow, Rouge; Knuckles, Shadow, Sonia; Espio, Knuckles, Sonia; Espio, Shadow, Sonia; Jet, Wave, Manic [briefly touched on in one chapter]; Shadow, Manic, Tikal [just barely tapped on in one chapter]; Charmy, Cream, Tails; Charmy, Cream, Marine; Tails, Marine, Cream; Charmy, Tails, Marine; and there are a few more that I can't remember right now. As for my own favorite couples, feel free to guess in a review.

Certain Best Friendships: Sonic, Tails, Knuckles; Amy, Cream, Shade; Silver, Espio; Shadow, Omega; Jet, Manic; Big, Storm; Aleena, Vanilla; Sleet, Dingo, Nack [if you can call it a friendship] By all means agree and disagree to me on these. I'm not completely set in all of them.

Possible Best Friendships: Vector, Charmy; Sonia, Wave; Blaze, Rouge; Marine, Tikal

Certain Rivalries: Shadow, Sonic, Silver; Amy, Rouge, Sonia; Charmy, Tails, Wave; Omega, Vector, Storm; Cream, Marine; Sleet, Aleena [it's complicated.]

Possible Rivalries: Blaze, Wave; Shade, Tikal; Manic, Espio; Knuckles, Jet. [In all honesty I was running out of ideas for rivalries.]

Remember I'm always open to ideas and requests. If anyone likes some idea or another feel free to use it. I hope you've enjoyed this story.


End file.
